Isolation of Campylobacter sp in surface waters of Taiwan.

BACKGROUND Campylobacter sp is one of the main causes of human acute enteritis and diarrhea. It is commonly found in bird intestinal canal and pollutes water bodies through bird droppings. Clinically, detection of Campylobacter sp is by culture method and most are fecal samples. The objective of this study is to investigate the distribution of Campylobacter sp in river water of Taiwan. METHODS The detection of campylobacters in water by the United Kingdom Health Protection Agency was adopted and simplified. Water samples (1L) were enriched through membrane filters and selective enrichment Bolton broth. The mCCDA medium was used for culturing Campylobacter sp. In addition to using the selective media, DNA sequencing for species' identification was also included in this study. RESULTS Campylobacter sp was detected in only 2 of 75 water samples, and 72 suspected strains were isolated from the selective mCCDA medium, in which several pathogenic bacteria included Escherichia coli O157. CONCLUSIONS Not only there was pollution of Campylobacter sp in water environment but also other antibiotics-resistant pathogenic bacteria, which may cause public health risk.