Population structure and pathogen interaction of Escherichia coli in freshwater: Implications of land‐use for water quality and public health in Aotearoa New Zealand

Freshwater samples (n = 199) were obtained from 41 sites with contrasting land‐uses (avian, low impact, dairy, urban, sheep and beef, and mixed sheep, beef and dairy) and the E. coli phylotype of 3980 isolates (20 per water sample enrichment) was determined. Eight phylotypes were identified with B1...

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Published in:	Environmental microbiology reports Vol. 16; no. 4; pp. e13319 - n/a
Main Authors:	Cookson, Adrian L., Devane, Meg, Marshall, Jonathan C., Moinet, Marie, Gardner, Amanda, Collis, Rose M., Rogers, Lynn, Biggs, Patrick J., Pita, Anthony B., Cornelius, Angela J., Haysom, Iain, Hayman, David T. S., Gilpin, Brent J., Leonard, Margaret
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Hoboken, USA John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01-08-2024
Subjects:	Animals Cryptosporidium - classification Cryptosporidium - genetics Cryptosporidium - isolation & purification Escherichia coli - classification Escherichia coli - genetics Escherichia coli - isolation & purification Feces - microbiology Fresh Water - microbiology Giardia - classification Giardia - genetics Giardia - isolation & purification Humans New Zealand Phylogeny Public Health Water Microbiology Water Quality New Zealand
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Summary:	Freshwater samples (n = 199) were obtained from 41 sites with contrasting land‐uses (avian, low impact, dairy, urban, sheep and beef, and mixed sheep, beef and dairy) and the E. coli phylotype of 3980 isolates (20 per water sample enrichment) was determined. Eight phylotypes were identified with B1 (48.04%), B2 (14.87%) and A (14.79%) the most abundant. Escherichia marmotae (n = 22), and Escherichia ruysiae (n = 1), were rare (0.68%) suggesting that these environmental strains are unlikely to confound water quality assessments. Phylotypes A and B1 were overrepresented in dairy and urban sites (p < 0.0001), whilst B2 were overrepresented in low impact sites (p < 0.0001). Pathogens ((Salmonella, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium or Giardia) and the presence of diarrhoeagenic E. coli‐associated genes (stx and eae) were detected in 89.9% (179/199) samples, including 80.5% (33/41) of samples with putative non‐recent faecal inputs. Quantitative PCR to detect microbial source tracking targets from human, ruminant and avian contamination were concordant with land‐use type and E. coli phylotype abundance. This study demonstrated that a potential recreational health risk remains where pathogens occurred in water samples with low E. coli concentration, potential non‐recent faecal sources, low impact sites and where human, ruminant and avian faecal sources were absent. Eight E. coli phylotypes were identified in freshwater samples; A and B1 were prevalent in dairy and urban areas, while B2 was common in low‐impact sites. Pathogens were found in 89.9% of samples, posing a potential recreational health risk even with low E. coli concentrations and absence of common faecal sources.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1758-2229 1758-2229
DOI:	10.1111/1758-2229.13319