title: Occurrence of bacteriophages infecting Aeromonas, Enterobacter, and Klebsiella in water and association with contamination sources in Thailand.
abstract: The co-residence of bacteriophages and their bacterial hosts in humans, animals, and environmental sources directed the use of bacteriophages to track the origins of the pathogenic bacteria that can be found in contaminated water. The objective of this study was to enumerate bacteriophages of Aeromonas caviae (AecaKS148), Enterobacter sp. (EnspKS513), and Klebsiella pneumoniae (KlpnKS648) in water and evaluate their association with contamination sources (human vs. animals). Bacterial host strains were isolated from untreated wastewater in Bangkok, Thailand. A double-layer agar technique was used to detect bacteriophages. All three bacteriophages were detected in polluted canal samples, with likely contamination from human wastewater, whereas none was found in non-polluted river samples. AecaKS148 was found to be associated with human fecal sources, while EnspKS513 and KlpnKS648 seemed to be equally prevalent in both human and animal fecal sources. Both bacteriophages were also present in polluted canals that could receive contamination from other fecal sources or the environment. In conclusion, all three bacteriophages were successfully monitored in Bangkok, Thailand. This study provided an example of bacteriophages for potential use as source identifiers of pathogen contamination. The results from this study will assist in controlling sources of pathogen contamination, especially in developing countries.
authors.affiliation: Chulabhorn Graduate Institute, Bangkok 10210, Thailand.
authors.forename: Bencharong
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Wangkahad
authors.affiliation: Inter-University Program on Environmental Toxicology, Technology and Management, Asian Institute of Technology, Chulabhorn Research Institute, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10210, Thailand.
authors.forename: Suchada
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Bosup
authors.affiliation: Department of Biotechnology and Center for Emerging Bacterial Infections, Faculty of Science, Mahidol University, Bangkok 10400, Thailand and Laboratory of Biotechnology, Chulabhorn Research Institute, Bangkok 10210, Thailand; Center of Excellence on Environmental Health and Toxicology, Ministry of Education, Bangkok 10400, Thailand E-mail: kwanrawee@cri.or.th.
authors.forename: Skorn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Mongkolsuk
authors.affiliation: Center of Excellence on Environmental Health and Toxicology, Ministry of Education, Bangkok 10400, Thailand E-mail: kwanrawee@cri.or.th; Translational Research Unit, Chulabhorn Research Institute, Bangkok 10210, Thailand.
authors.forename: Kwanrawee
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sirikanchana
mesh_terms: D000333:Aeromonas / Q000821:virology*; D001435:Bacteriophages / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004754:Enterobacter / Q000821:virology*; D006801:Humans; D007709:Klebsiella / Q000821:virology*; D012722:Sewage; D013785:Thailand; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014876:Water Pollution
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage