Abstract
We assessed the occurrence of Vibrio pathogens in the final effluents of five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in Amathole and Chris Hani District Municipalities in South Africa over a 12 months period between September 2012 and August 2013 using standard membrane filtration technique followed by cultivation on thiosulphate citrate-bile salts-sucrose (TCBS) agar. The identities of the presumptive Vibrio isolates were confirmed using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) including delineation into V. parahaemolyticus, V. vulnificus and V. fluvialis pathotypes. The counts of Vibrio spp. varied with months in all the study sites and ranged in the order of 101 and 104 CFU/100mL. Vibrio distribution also showed seasonality with high counts being obtained in autumn and spring (p < 0.05). Prevalence of Vibrio spp. among the five WWTPs also differed significantly (p < 0.05). Of the 300 isolates that were confirmed as belonging to the Vibrio genus, 29% (86) were V. fluvialis, 28% (84) were V. vulnificus and 12% (35) were V. parahaemolyticus. The isolation of Vibrio pathogens from the final effluent suggests that this pathogen is in circulation in some pockets of the population and that the WWTPs under study do not efficiently remove bacterial pathogens from the wastewater and consequently are threats to public health.
Highlights
Wastewater production is a common phenomenon worldwide and regulatory imperatives demands that wastewater be treated before discharge into the environment [1]
The isolation of Vibrio pathogens from the final effluent suggests that this pathogen is in circulation in some pockets of the population and that the wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) under study do not efficiently remove bacterial pathogens from the wastewater and are threats to public health
Wastewater final effluents serve as reservoirs of many enteric pathogens [4] especially capitalizing on their enhanced strategies to survive wastewater treatment processes and reduced susceptibilities to disinfectants [5]
Summary
Wastewater production is a common phenomenon worldwide and regulatory imperatives demands that wastewater be treated before discharge into the environment [1]. Wastewater final effluents serve as reservoirs of many enteric pathogens [4] especially capitalizing on their enhanced strategies to survive wastewater treatment processes and reduced susceptibilities to disinfectants [5] Of these enteric pathogens, the Vibrio genus has been one of the major pathogens known to cause outbreaks worldwide, but mostly known for causing cholera [6]. Several species of Vibrio are pathogens, including V. parahaemolyticus, V. fluvialis and V. vulnificus which is common in warm seawater and thrives in water temperatures greater than 20 °C [13] This pathogen is directly associated with pollution or fecal waste and in most cases, causes disease in individuals who eat contaminated seafood (usually raw or undercooked oysters) or have an open wound that is exposed to seawater [14]. Province as part of our larger study on wastewater effluents vibriology in South Africa
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