Chemical and Pathgogen Exposure Through Recreational Waters: Pathogen Analysis

Pathogens are disease-causing microorganisms. They may be bacteria, viruses or protozoa. They can enter natural water bodies from leaking septic tanks, wastewater-treatment discharge, storm-water runoff, and animal wastes and other sources. Unfortunately, it is difficult and time-consuming to assess water directly for all pathogenic organisms that might potentially be present. Therefore, “indicator” organisms (commonly the bacteria Escherichia coli or E. coli) are used as a sign that water has been contaminated with fecal material. E. coli behaves similarly in the environment to some pathogenic organisms such as other bacteria (e.g., Salmonella) but it does not indicate viruses and protozoa very well. Newer indicators (organisms and chemicals) that may better indicate the presence of viruses or protozoa are currently being tested by the USGS. In addition, the USGS is exploring the use of some new methods, based on molecular technologies that are rapidly developing, for analysis of specific microbial pathogens in water.

Projects and Products

Development of methods to analyze for bacterial pathogens and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in water

Wisconsin studies of pathogens at beaches

Lake Michigan

Occurrence of Escherichia coli and enterococci in Cladophora (Chlorophyta) in nearshore water and beach sand of Lake Michigan. By: Richard L. Whitman, Dawn A. Shively, Heather Pawlik, Meredith B. Nevers, and Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2003 Vol. 69 Number 8, Pages 4714-4719.

Foreshore sand as a source of Escherichia coli in nearshore water of a Lake Michigan Beach. By: Richard L. Whitman and Meredith B. Nevers Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2003. Vol. 69 Number 9, Pages 5555-5562.

Protecting visitor health in beach waters of Lake Michigan: Problems and opportunities. By: Meredith B. Nevers and Richard L. Whitman. In: T. Edsall, M. Munawar (Eds.), "State of Lake Michigan: Ecology, Health and Management", pp. 583-600. Aquatic Ecosystem Health and Management Society, Ecovision Series. Goodword Books, India. 2005.

Ohio

The Ohio District Microbiology Laboratory (ODML) has established a method and quality-assurance/quality-control procedure for analysis of water samples for enterovirus and hepatitis-A virus by reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). USEPA Method 1623, filtration/immunomagnetic separation/fluorescent antibody, is used to detect Cryptosporidium and Giardia in water. Past publications on pathogens in other types of water can be found at http://oh.water.usgs.gov/microbiol.html.

Virus in Florida Keys

Griffin, D.W., K.A. Donaldson, J.H. Paul, and J.B. Rose. 2003. Pathogenic Human Viruses in Coastal Waters. Clinical Microbiology Reviews. 16(1):129-143 This review addresses both historical and recent investigations into viral contamination of marine waters. With the relatively recent emergence of molecular biology-based assays, a number of investigations have shown that pathogenic viruses are prevalent in marine waters being impacted by sewage.

Jarrell, J.L., E.K. Lipp, D.W. Griffin, J. Lukasik, T. Scott, D. Wait, M. Sobsey and J.B. Rose. 2003. Presence, Infectivity and Stability of Enteric Viruses in Water: Relationships to Marine Water Quality in the Florida Keys. Marine Pollution Bulletin. 48(7-8):698-704 Concerns about the presence of enteric viruses in the surface waters of the Florida Keys prompted analyses of virus stability and persistence in these waters.

Other

Growth and survival of E. coli and enterococci populations in the macro-alga Cladophora (Chlorophyta). By: Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli, Dawn A. Shively, Meredith B. Nevers, Michael J. Sadowsky, and Richard L. Whitman. FEMS Microbiology Ecology 2003. Vol. 46, Pages 203-211.

Ubiquity and persistence of Escherichia coli within a Midwestern coastal stream. By: Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli, Melanie Fowler, Dawn Shively, and Richard L. Whitman. Applied and Environmental Microbiology 2003. Vol. 69, Number 8, Pages 4549-4555.

Other Information on the Internet

The US Centers for Disease Control lists some common recreational water pathogens:

• When You Swim, Swim Healthy!
• Infectious Disease Information: Water-Related Diseases

Two highly regarded reports from the American Society of Microbiology on this subject are:

• "Reevaluation of Microbial Water Quality: Powerful New Tools for Detection and Risk Assessment" (2001). Prepared by Joan B. Rose, Ph.D., and D. Jay Grimes, Ph.D.
• “Microbial Pollutants in Our Nation's Water - Environmental and Public Health Issues” The report provides information on the problem of infectious diseases and waterborne microbial infections and emphasizes the critical role of research in responding to environmental and public health issues which currently confront policymakers.

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U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://health.usgs.gov/rec_waters/pathogen_analysis.html
Page Contact Information: Herb Buxton
Page Last Modified: 07-Dec-2007@10:29