Biomaterial Database

Recovery and survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 in reconditioned pork-processing wastewater. 1999

K T Rajkowski, and E W Rice

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Eastern Regional Research Center, Wyndmoor, Pennsylvania 19038-8598, USA. krajkowski@arserrc.gov

The pathogen Escherichia coli O157:H7 has been recovered from various water sources and food samples. The growth potential of this bacterium in nutrient-limited, reconditioned wastewater from a pork-processing plant was determined over a temperature range of 4 to 46 degrees C. Even though the biological oxygen demand of the wastewater was <2 mg/liter, results of bioassays for assimilable organic carbon and the coliform growth response of the water suggested that sufficient nutrients were present to support limited bacterial growth. A three-strain mixture of E. coli O157:H7 grew over the temperature range of 10.2 to 29.4 degrees C. Bioassays appear to be a good indicator of the ability of this wastewater to support growth of this pathogen. Statistically higher levels of bacterial growth (P < 0.05) were detected on a nonselective medium (tryptic soy agar) than on a selective medium (sorbitol-MacConkey agar), suggesting that stress or injury of the bacterium occurs when the organism is exposed to the nutrient-limited conditions of the wastewater. These results indicate that E. coli O157:H7 can survive and grow in this particular nutrient-limited wastewater, suggesting a potential hazard if this water becomes contaminated with this pathogen.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D000818	Animals	Unicellular or multicellular, heterotrophic organisms, that have sensation and the power of voluntary movement. Under the older five kingdom paradigm, Animalia was one of the kingdoms. Under the modern three domain model, Animalia represents one of the many groups in the domain EUKARYOTA.	Animal,Metazoa,Animalia
D000822	Animal Husbandry	The science of breeding, feeding and care of domestic animals; includes housing and nutrition.	Animal Husbandries,Husbandries, Animal,Husbandry, Animal
D013552	Swine	Any of various animals that constitute the family Suidae and comprise stout-bodied, short-legged omnivorous mammals with thick skin, usually covered with coarse bristles, a rather long mobile snout, and small tail. Included are the genera Babyrousa, Phacochoerus (wart hogs), and Sus, the latter containing the domestic pig (see SUS SCROFA).	Phacochoerus,Pigs,Suidae,Warthogs,Wart Hogs,Hog, Wart,Hogs, Wart,Wart Hog
D013696	Temperature	The property of objects that determines the direction of heat flow when they are placed in direct thermal contact. The temperature is the energy of microscopic motions (vibrational and translational) of the particles of atoms.	Temperatures
D014865	Waste Disposal, Fluid	The discarding or destroying of liquid waste products or their transformation into something useful or innocuous.	Disposal, Fluid Waste,Disposals, Fluid Waste,Fluid Waste Disposal,Fluid Waste Disposals,Waste Disposals, Fluid
D014871	Water Microbiology	The presence of bacteria, viruses, and fungi in water. This term is not restricted to pathogenic organisms.	Microbiology, Water
D019453	Escherichia coli O157	A verocytotoxin-producing serogroup belonging to the O subfamily of Escherichia coli which has been shown to cause severe food-borne disease. A strain from this serogroup, serotype H7, which produces SHIGA TOXINS, has been linked to human disease outbreaks resulting from contamination of foods by E. coli O157 from bovine origin.	E coli O157,E coli O157-H7,Escherichia coli O157-H7