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. 2004 Jan;70(1):87-95.
doi: 10.1128/AEM.70.1.87-95.2004.

Campylobacter spp., Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp., noroviruses, and indicator organisms in surface water in southwestern Finland, 2000-2001

Ari Hörman  1 , Ruska Rimhanen-Finne, Leena Maunula, Carl-Henrik von Bonsdorff, Niina Torvela, Annamari Heikinheimo, Marja-Liisa Hänninen
Affiliations

Campylobacter spp., Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp., noroviruses, and indicator organisms in surface water in southwestern Finland, 2000-2001

Ari Hörman et al. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2004 Jan.

Abstract

A total of 139 surface water samples from seven lakes and 15 rivers in southwestern Finland were analyzed during five consecutive seasons from autumn 2000 to autumn 2001 for the presence of various enteropathogens (Campylobacter spp., Giardia spp., Cryptosporidium spp., and noroviruses) and fecal indicators (thermotolerant coliforms, Escherichia coli, Clostridium perfringens, and F-RNA bacteriophages) and for physicochemical parameters (turbidity and temperature); this was the first such systematic study. Altogether, 41.0% (57 of 139) of the samples were positive for at least one of the pathogens; 17.3% were positive for Campylobacter spp. (45.8% of the positive samples contained Campylobacter jejuni, 25.0% contained Campylobacter lari, 4.2% contained Campylobacter coli, and 25.0% contained Campylobacter isolates that were not identified), 13.7% were positive for Giardia spp., 10.1% were positive for Cryptosporidium spp., and 9.4% were positive for noroviruses (23.0% of the positive samples contained genogroup I and 77.0% contained genogroup II). The samples were positive for enteropathogens significantly (P < 0.05) less frequently during the winter season than during the other sampling seasons. No significant differences in the prevalence of enteropathogens were found when rivers and lakes were compared. The presence of thermotolerant coliforms, E. coli, and C. perfringens had significant bivariate nonparametric Spearman's rank order correlation coefficients (P < 0.001) with samples that were positive for one or more of the pathogens analyzed. The absence of these indicators in a logistic regression model was found to have significant predictive value (odds ratios, 1.15 x 10(8), 7.57, and 2.74, respectively; P < 0.05) for a sample that was negative for the pathogens analyzed. There were no significant correlations between counts or count levels for thermotolerant coliforms or E. coli or the presence of F-RNA phages and pathogens in the samples analyzed.

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Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Geographic locations of surface water sampling sites in southwestern Finland.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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