Faecal contamination of a municipal drinking water distribution system in association with Campylobacter jejuni infections.
After heavy rains Campylobacter jejuni together with high counts of Escherichia coli, other coliforms and intestinal enterococci were detected from drinking water of a municipal distribution system in eastern Finland in August 2004. Three patients with a positive C. jejuni finding, who had drunk the contaminated water, were identified and interviewed. The pulsed-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) genotypes from the patient samples were identical to some of the genotypes isolated from the water of the suspected contamination source. In addition, repetitive DNA element analysis (rep-PCR) revealed identical patterns of E. coli and other coliform isolates along the distribution line. Further on-site technical investigations revealed that one of the two rainwater gutters on the roof of the water storage tower had been in an incorrect position and rainwater had flushed a large amount of faecal material from wild birds into the drinking water. The findings required close co-operation between civil authorities, and application of cultivation and genotyping techniques strongly suggested that the municipal drinking water was the source of the infections. The faecal contamination associated with failures in cleaning and technical management stress the importance of instructions for waterworks personnel to perform maintenance work properly.
Pitkänen
Tarja
T
Department of Environmental Health, National Public Health Institute (KTL), Laboratory of Environmental Microbiology, P.O. Box 95, FI-70701 Kuopio, Finland. Tarja.Pitkanen@ktl.fi
Miettinen
Ilkka T
IT
Nakari
Ulla-Maija
UM
Takkinen
Johanna
J
Nieminen
Kalle
K
Siitonen
Anja
A
Kuusi
Markku
M
Holopainen
Arja
A
Hänninen
Marja-Liisa
ML
D002169:Campylobacter Infections / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016123:Campylobacter jejuni / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D002947:Cities / Q000453:epidemiology; D004326:Drinking; D005243:Feces / Q000382:microbiology*; D005387:Finland / Q000453:epidemiology; D005618:Fresh Water / Q000382:microbiology*; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D014871:Water Microbiology