Salmonella: the forgotten pathogen: health hazards of compliance with European bathing water legislation.

Mansilha, Catarina; Coelho, Carla; Reinas, Alcina; Moutinho, Ana; Ferreira, Sónia; Pizarro, Cristina; Tavares, António

http://hdl.handle.net/10400.18/683

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Marine Pollution Bulletin 60 (2010) 819826.pdf		437.38 KB	Adobe PDF	Download

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Abstract(s)

The increasing demands on recreational waters have made microbial contamination a matter of public and scientific concern. This study aimed to search for Salmonella spp. in waters classified according EU Directive 2006/7/EC, in order to assess associations between its prevalence and the concentration of the non-pathogenic new faecal indicators: Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci. Although a statistically significant association was observed Salmonella was detected on beaches classified as "Good" (9.3%) and "Excellent" (14.4%) which compromises the idea that faecal indicators can be predictors of pathogens. Attending the high prevalence of Salmonella found (23.1%) it seemed important to improve the efficiency of the conventional analytical method (ISO 6340:1995), comparing its draft with SML-VIDAS Salmonella and two new chromogenic media: AES Salmonella Agar Plate (ASAP) and Simple Method Salmonella (SMS). ASAP showed the higher efficiency and can be recommended for a faster detection and presumptive identification of salmonellae in bathing waters.