PATHOGENIC BACTERIA IN WATERS AND DRINKING WATER-ASSOCIATED BIOFILMS

Zvezdimira Tsvetanova,Hristo Najdenski

doi:10.32006/eeep.2017.1.5061

Abstract

In this review, the dissemination of bacterial pathogens in natural waters and the mechanisms of their transmission in drinking water, and the role of water-associated biofilms for their survival or growth are discussed. The current state of the studies on biofilm-formation potential of the emerged pathogens in drinking water and the role of interspecies interactions for attachment and survival of pathogenic bacteria in the biofilm community is summarized. The contribution of the biofilms for increasing antimicrobial resistance of pathogens is discussed.

Highlights

Biofilms are attached microbial communities, ubiquitous in natural waters and purified drinking water [1, 18, 34, 36, 72]
Biofilms in drinking waters are object of increasing scientific interest during the last two decades because they represent one of the factors for deterioration of the bacteriological quality of drinking water, the provision of clean and safe drinking water in sufficient quantity is a basic human right [19, 43, 76, 77, 79]
While the problems of choosing a drinking water source and technologies for drinking water purification and disinfection have had their optimal solutions, the biofilms that develop on the surface of pipelines and facilities in contact with drinking water still are object of scientific inquiry [20, 47, 63, 68, 69, 75]

Summary

Introduction

Biofilms are attached microbial communities, ubiquitous in natural waters and purified drinking water [1, 18, 34, 36, 72]. Untreated natural waters are reservoir of obligate pathogenic bacteria and opportunistic ones, such as Aeromonas sp., Acinetobacter spp., Bacillus cereus, Flavobacterium spp., Moraxella sp., Pseudomonas spp., which enter the drinking water as a result of inadequate water treatment for their removal, insufficient disinfection or recovery of the injured cells in the biofilms existing on the surface of pipes and equipment in the drinking water supply systems (DWSS) [7, 37, 72, 76].

Results

Conclusion