@article {8868, title = {Abundance of Pathogenic Escherichia coli Virulence-Associated Genes in Well and Borehole Water Used for Domestic Purposes in a Peri-Urban Community of South Africa}, journal = {Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health}, volume = {14}, year = {2017}, month = {03/2017}, pages = {1-11}, type = {Reserach}, chapter = {1}, abstract = {In the absence of pipe-borne water, many people in Africa, especially in rural communities,
depend on alternative water sources such as wells, boreholes and rivers for household and personal
hygiene. Poor maintenance and nearby pit latrines, however, lead to microbial pollution of these
sources. We evaluated the abundance of Escherichia coli and the prevalence of pathogenic E. coli
virulence genes in water from wells, boreholes and a river in a South African peri-urban community.
Monthly samples were collected between August 2015 and November 2016. In all, 144 water samples
were analysed for E. coli using the Colilert 18 system. Virulence genes (eagg, eaeA, stx1, stx2, flichH7,
ST, ipaH, ibeA) were investigated using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Mean E. coli counts
ranged between 0 and 443.1 Most Probable Number (MPN)/100 mL of water sample. Overall, 99.3\%
of samples were positive for at least one virulence gene studied, with flicH7 being the most detected
gene (81/140; 57.6\%) and the stx2 gene the least detected gene (8/140; 5.7\%). Both intestinal and
extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli genes were detected. The detection of virulence genes in these water
sources suggests the presence of potentially pathogenic E. coli strains and is a public health concern.}, keywords = {microbial quality; pathogenic Escherichia coli; virulence genes; boreholes; wells; public health}, doi = {10.3390/ijerph14030320}, url = {http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/14/3/306}, author = {Maggy Momba} }