Title:
Field-Testing Enterococcus Faecalis for Bacterial Source Tracking

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Author(s)
Rodgers, Karen
Hartel, Peter G.
Kuntz, Robin L.
Godfrey, Dominique G.
Segars, William I.
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Hatcher, Kathryn J.
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Abstract
A waste stabilization pond was suspected of causing fecal contamination to Holt Branch, a tributary of Juniper Creek, near Byron, Georgia. We used ribotyping, a genotypic (DNA-based) bacterial source tracking (BST) method, to match Enterococcus faecalis isolates from Holt Branch and the waste stabilization pond. Fecal enterococci in the effluent from the waste stabilization pond averaged 13,863 colony-forming units (CFU) per 100 mL, and numbers of fecal enterococci from Holt Branch averaged 3,290 CFU per 100 mL. The 17 Ent. faecalis isolates from the Holt Branch yielded 4 ribotypes, and the 41 isolates obtained from the waste stabilization pond yielded 9 ribotypes. All four ribotypes from Holt Branch matched the ribotypes from the waste stabilization pond at a 100% similarity index, which suggested that the waste stabilization pond was the source of fecal contamination to Holt Branch. This is the first use of Ent. faecalis for BST.
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Date Issued
2003-04
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