Survival of E. coli O157:H7 in organic wastes destined for land application.
OBJECTIVE
To determine the persistence of Escherichia coli O157 in contrasting organic wastes spread to land and to assess the potential environmental risk associated with the disposal of these wastes to land.


RESULTS
Twenty-seven organic wastes originating from slaughterhouses, wastewater treatment plants (raw and treated sewage), creameries and farms (bovine slurry), were inoculated with E. coli O157:H7 and incubated at 10 degrees C. Although pathogen numbers gradually declined in all the wastes, albeit at different rates even in the same waste type, E. coli O157:H7 was still viable in 77% of organic wastes tested after 2 months.


CONCLUSIONS
Long-term storage of organic wastes led to a significant and gradual decline in E. coli O157:H7 numbers. Consequently, storage may be a useful means of reducing the pathogen load of wastes destined for land application. However, in most cases, long-term storage cannot be expected to completely eliminate E. coli O157:H7 from waste.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that current legislation may be insufficient to protect the environment from E. coli O157:H7 contamination from untreated wastes spread to land.
Avery
L M
LM
School of Agricultural and Forest Sciences, University of Wales, Bangor, Gwynedd, UK. l.m.avery@cranfield.ac.uk
Killham
K
K
Jones
D L
DL
D000003:Abattoirs; D000383:Agriculture; D000818:Animals; D002417:Cattle; D015169:Colony Count, Microbial; D004787:Environmental Pollution / Q000009:adverse effects; D019453:Escherichia coli O157 / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005511:Food Handling / Q000379:methods; D005516:Food Microbiology; D006256:Hazardous Waste; D012722:Sewage / Q000382:microbiology; D012756:Sheep; D013997:Time Factors; D018505:Waste Management / Q000379:methods*; D014866:Waste Products; D014871:Water Microbiology
D006256:Hazardous Waste; D012722:Sewage; D014866:Waste Products