Salmonella and Campylobacter prevalence in stream networks of the Satilla River Basin (SRB) were monitored monthly from August 2007 to August 2009 to study relationships between these pathogens and land use, presence of poultry houses and wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) discharge. Salmonella and Campylobacter were detected at all 10 stream sites and the three sites at the sole wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the study area. In all, 43% (129/299) and 62% (96/156) of samples were positive for Salmonella and Campylobacter, respectively, with detection frequency increasing in downstream sites with more poultry production and influence of WWTP discharge. Both Salmonella and Campylobacter detection frequencies were positively associated with the number of poultry houses in the subwatersheds, but agricultural land use as a proportion of the watershed was not a significant predictor of either pathogen. Fecal indicator bacterial levels were assessed and evaluated for their ability to predict the presence of pathogens. Of those examined, enterococci was most predictive; of the 129 samples positive for Salmonella, 88% (113/129) were detected when enterococci were above EPA single sample threshold (61CFU 100ml-1); and of the 96 samples positive for Campylobacter, 90% (86/96) were detected when enterococci levels exceeded this level. Comparatively, Escherichia coli concentrations were above EPA single sample thresholds in 38% (49/129) of the positive Salmonella samples. Detection of the pathogens throughout the watershed indicated that there was potential for waterborne transmission especially in downstream areas that were more likely to have recreational users.
a University of Georgia, Odum School of Ecology, Athens, GA 30602, USAidb USDA-Agricultural Research Service, Southeast Watershed Research Unit, Tifton, GA 31793, USAid="aff3">c USDA-Agricultural Research Service, National Sedimentation Laboratory, Oxford, MS 38655, USAid="aff4">d University of Georgia, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory, Tifton, GA 31793, USAid="aff5">e University of Georgia, College of Veterinary Medicine, Veterinary Diagnostic and Investigational Laboratory, Tifton, GA 31793, USAid="aff6">f University of Georgia, College of Public Health, Dept. of Environmental Health Science, 206 Environmental Health Science Bldg, Athens, GA 30602, USA
Recommended Citation:
Ethell Vereen Jr.a,b,1,et al. Landscape and seasonal factors influence Salmonella and Campylobacter prevalence in a rural mixed use watershed[J]. water Research,2013-01-01,Volume 47(Issue 16)