Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Prevalence of Salmonella serotypes in environmental waters and their relationships with indicator organisms

  • Published:
Antonie van Leeuwenhoek Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The incidence of serotypes of Salmonella in three types of environmental water (sea, river and fresh reservoirs) from north-east Spain was investigated. The study was performed at specific sampling locations during the summer for a period of five years (1992–1996). A total of 823 strains were isolated and 55 different serotypes were identified, 42 were recovered from sea water, 32 from river water and 12 from freshwater reservoirs. The most frequently isolated serotypes coincided with those involved in clinical cases in the area studied. Salmonella enteritidis was the most common (111 isolates), it was found in all types of water, although most predominantly in sea water (16.1% of the isolates). This serotype, together with S. hadar, significantly increased in frequency during the five year study period. The most frequent serotypes in river water and freshwater reservoirs were S. virchow (9.5%) and S. mikawasima (23.8%) respectively. Significant differences were assessed in the indicator organism densities between the samples with serotypes of clinical significance (S. enteritidis, S. infantis, S. typhimurium, S. virchow and S. paratyphi B) and those without clinical significance. Therefore their presence in all environmental waters may be of epidemiological significance.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anon (1997) Minimising the risk of salmonellosis from eggs. Eurosurvillance 2: 86–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Arvanitidou M, Stathopoulus GA, Constantinidis TC & Katsouyannopoulus V (1995) The ocurrence of Salmonella, Campylobacter and Yersinia spp. in river and lake waters. Microbiol. Res. 150: 153–158

    Google Scholar 

  • Baird-Parker AC (1990) Foodborne salmonellosis. Lancet 336: 1231–1235

    Google Scholar 

  • Barreiro-García G, Olaizola-Mendibil A, Ulibarrena-Sainz M, Sanz de Galdeano C, Álvarez-Blanco A & Aguirre-Errasti C (1995) Insuficiencia cardiaca grave y lesiones cutáneas por Salmonella virchow. A propósito de un caso. An. Med. Interna 12: 343–345

    Google Scholar 

  • Clark RM, Geldreich EE, Fox KR, Rice EW, Johnson CH, Goodrich JA, Barnick JA & Abdesaken F (1996) Tracking a Salmonella serotype typhimurium outbreak in Gideon, Missouri: role of contaminant propagation modelling. J. Water S R T-Aqua. 45: 171–183

    Google Scholar 

  • Claudon D, Thompson D, Christenson E, Lawton G & Dick E (1971) Prolonged Salmonella contamination of a recreational lake by runoff waters. Appl. Microbiol. 21: 857–877

    Google Scholar 

  • Cordano AM & Virgilio R (1990) Salmonella contamination of surface waters. In: Castillo G, Campos V & Herrera L (Eds) Proceedings of the Second Biennial Water Quality Symposium, Microbiological Aspects. Editorial Universitaria, Santiago de Chile

    Google Scholar 

  • Craun GF (1988) Surface water supplies and health. J. Am. Water Works Ass. 80: 40–52

    Google Scholar 

  • Dupray E & Derrien A (1995) Influence of the previous stay of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. in waste waters on their survival in seawater. Water Res. 29: 1005–1011

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferguson CM, Coote BG, Ashbolt NJ & Stevenson IM (1996) Relationships between indicators, pathogens and water quality in an estuarine system. Water Res. 30: 2045–2054

    Google Scholar 

  • Fernandez de la Hoz K, Carpintero JL, Puchades J, Verde C & García C (1994) Investigación de los brotes de toxi-infección alimentaria en Mora (Toledo) con una fuente de infección común. Rev. Sanid. Hig. Pública (Madrid) 68: 589–595

    Google Scholar 

  • Figueras MJ, Polo FL, Inza I & Guarro J (1994) Poor specificity of m-Endo and m-FC culture media for the enumeration of coliform bacteria in sea water. Lett. Appl. Microbiol. 19: 446–450

    Google Scholar 

  • Figueras MJ, Polo FL, Inza I, Feliu MT & Guarro J (1996) A fast method for the confirmation of faecal streptococci from m-Enterococcus medium. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 62: 2177–2178

    Google Scholar 

  • Figueras MJ, Polo FL, Inza I & Guarro J (1997) Past, present and future perspectives of the EU Bathing Water Directive. Mar. Pollut. Bull. 34: 148–156

    Google Scholar 

  • Frost JA, Kelleher A & Rowe B (1996) Increasing ciprofloxacin resistance in salmonellas in England and Wales. 1991–1994. J. Antimicrob. Chemoth. 37: 85–91

    Google Scholar 

  • Galés P & Baleux B (1992) Influence of the drainage basin input on a pathogenic bacteria (Salmonella) contamination of a Mediterranean lagoon (the Thau lagoon-France) and the survival of this bacteria in brackish water. Water Sci. Technol. 25: 105–114

    Google Scholar 

  • Geldreich EE (1970) Applying bacteriological parameters to recreational water quality. J. Am. Water Works Ass. 62: 113–120

    Google Scholar 

  • Goossens H, Wauters G, De Boeck M, Janssens M & Butzler JP (1984) Semisolid selective-motility enrichment medium for isolation of salmonellae from fecal specimens. J. Clin. Microbiol. 19: 940–941

    Google Scholar 

  • Isern AM, Ferrer MD & Fernández F (1987) Estudio de la Salmonella en el agua de mar de las playas de la ciudad de Barcelona. Gac. Sanit. (Barcelona) 1: 118–122

    Google Scholar 

  • Jackson GJ, Langford CF & Archer LA (1991) Control of salmonellosis and similar foodborne infections. Food Control, January: 26–34

  • Kramer MH, Herwaldt BL, Craun GF, Calderon RL & Juranek DD (1996) Waterborne Disease: 1993 and 1994. J. Am. Waterworks Ass. 88: 66–80

    Google Scholar 

  • Landeras E, Usera MA, Calderón C & Mendoza MC (1997) Usefulness of phage typing and ‘two-way ribotyping’ to differentiate Salmonella enteritidis strains. Microbiología SEM 13: 471–480

    Google Scholar 

  • Mariscal A, Clavijo E, Carnero M, García R, García A, Pinedo A & Fenández J (1992) Epidomiología molecular de toxi-infecciones producidas por Salmonella enterica: correlación del serotipo y del perfil proteico y análisis del ADN plasmídico. Enf. Inf. Microbiol. Clin. 10: 328–333

    Google Scholar 

  • Moriñigo MA, Martínez-Manzanares E, Muñoz MA, Balebona MC & Borrego JJ (1993) Reliability of several microorganisms to indicate the presence of Salmonella in natural waters. Water Sci. Technol. 27: 471–474

    Google Scholar 

  • O'Shanahan L, Monzón-Moreno C, López-Orge RH & González-Lama Z (1990) Salmonella y otras bacterias de aguas costeras de Gran Canaria. Bol. Inst. Esp. Oceanogr. 6: 59–70

    Google Scholar 

  • Oziol E, Bonal J, Chauveau E, Talard P, Carli P & Chagnon A (1995) Acute myocarditis in non typhoid Salmonella infection. Arch. Mal. Coeur Vaiss. 88: 99–101

    Google Scholar 

  • Pelkonen S, Romppanen EL, Siitonen A & Pelkonen J (1994) Differentiation of Salmonella serovar infantis isolates from human and animal sources by fingerprinting IS200 and 16S rrn loci. J. Clin. Microbiol. 32: 2128–2133

    Google Scholar 

  • Polo FL, Figueras MJ, Inza I, Sala J, Fleisher JM & Guarro J (1998) Relationship between presence of Salmonella and indicators of faecal pollution in aquatic habitats. FEMS Microbiol. Lett. 160: 253–256

    Google Scholar 

  • Pohl P, Chasseurlibotte ML, Imberechts H, Stockmans F, Marin M, Vanrobaeys G, Allali N & Courtier M (1995) Progression of the prevalence of Salmonella hadar isolates from men and animals in Belgium. Ann. Med. Vet. 139: 283–285

    Google Scholar 

  • Ramos JM, Ales JM, Cuenca-Estrella M, Fernández-Roblas R & Soriano F (1996) Changes in susceptibility of Salmonella enteritidis, Salmonella typhimurium and Salmonella virchow to six antimicrobial agents in a Spanish hospital, 1980–1994. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. 15: 85–88

    Google Scholar 

  • Ruiz J, Nuñez ML, Sempere MA, Díaz J & Gómez J (1995) Systemic infections in three infants due to a lactose-fermenting strain of Salmonella virchow. Eur. J. Clin. Microbiol. 14: 454–456

    Google Scholar 

  • Threlfall EJ, Frost JA, Ward LR & Rowe B (1996) Increasing spectrum of resistance in multiresistant Salmonella typhimurium. Lancet 347: 1053–1054

    Google Scholar 

  • Tobias H & Heinemeyer EA (1994) Vorkommen von Salmonella in küstennahem Nordseewasser sowie ihr hygienischer Bezug zu Indiakatorbakterien und kontaminationsquellen. Zbl. Hyg. Umweltmed. 195: 495–508

    Google Scholar 

  • Usera MA, Cano R & Echeita A (1995) Análisis de los serotipos de Salmonella sp. aislados en España en el periodo 1988–1992. Enf. Inf. Microbiol. Clín. 13: 138–145

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unitat de Microbiologia, Facultat de Medicina, Universitat Rovira i Virgili, 43201, Reus, Spain

    F. Polo, M.J. Figueras, I. Inza, J. Sala & J. Guarro

  2. Department of Preventive Medicine, State University of New York, Health Science Center at Brooklyn, New York, 11203, USA

    J.M. Fleisher

Authors
  1. F. Polo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M.J. Figueras
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. I. Inza
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. J. Sala
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. J.M. Fleisher
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. J. Guarro
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M.J. Figueras.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Polo, F., Figueras, M., Inza, I. et al. Prevalence of Salmonella serotypes in environmental waters and their relationships with indicator organisms. Antonie Van Leeuwenhoek 75, 285–292 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1001817305779

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1001817305779

Search

Navigation