title: Two-Year Monitoring of Water Samples from Dam of Iskar and the Black Sea, Bulgaria, by Molecular Analysis: Focus on Mycobacterium spp.
abstract: The coast of the Bulgarian Black Sea is a popular summer holiday destination. The Dam of Iskar is the largest artificial dam in Bulgaria, with a capacity of 675 million m3. It is the main source of tap water for the capital Sofia and for irrigating the surrounding valley. There is a close relationship between the quality of aquatic ecosystems and human health as many infections are waterborne. Rapid molecular methods for the analysis of highly pathogenic bacteria have been developed for monitoring quality. Mycobacterial species can be isolated from waste, surface, recreational, ground and tap waters and human pathogenicity of nontuberculose mycobacteria (NTM) is well recognized. The objective of our study was to perform molecular analysis for key-pathogens, with a focus on mycobacteria, in water samples collected from the Black Sea and the Dam of Iskar. In a two year period, 38 water samples were collected-24 from the Dam of Iskar and 14 from the Black Sea coastal zone. Fifty liter water samples were concentrated by ultrafiltration. Molecular analysis for 15 pathogens, including all species of genus Mycobacterium was performed. Our results showed presence of Vibrio spp. in the Black Sea. Rotavirus A was also identified in four samples from the Dam of Iskar. Toxigenic Escherichia coli was present in both locations, based on markers for stx1 and stx2 genes. No detectable amounts of Cryptosporidium were detected in either location using immunomagnetic separation and fluorescence microscopy. Furthermore, mass spectrometry analyses did not detect key cyanobacterial toxins. On the basis of the results obtained we can conclude that for the period 2012-2014 no Mycobacterium species were present in the water samples. During the study period no cases of waterborne infections were reported.
authors.affiliation: National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria. spanaiotov@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Stefan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panaiotov
authors.affiliation: National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria. ivanos@dir.bg.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Simeonovski
authors.affiliation: National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria. vikis@abv.bg.
authors.forename: Victoria
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Levterova
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biodiversity and Ecosystem Research, BAS, 1113 Sofia, Bulgaria. karamfilov.v@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Ventzislav
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Karamfilov
authors.affiliation: National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria. nbrankova@abv.bg.
authors.forename: Nadia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Brankova
authors.affiliation: National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria. ktankova@abv.bg.
authors.forename: Kristin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tankova
authors.affiliation: Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University, Belfast BT9 5 AG, UK. katrina.campbell@qub.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Katrina
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.affiliation: Veolia Environnement Recherche and Innovation, Department Environnement Sante - Solutions d'Analyse Environnementale, 94410 Saint Maurice, France. pauline.jacob@veolia.com.
authors.forename: Pauline
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.affiliation: Veolia Environnement Recherche and Innovation, Department Environnement Sante - Solutions d'Analyse Environnementale, 94410 Saint Maurice, France. karim.helmi@veolia.com.
authors.forename: Karim
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Helmi
authors.affiliation: UCD School of Biosystems Engineering, University College Dublin, Dublin 4, Ireland. b.boots@ucd.ie.
authors.forename: Bas
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Boots
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Santia, 00161 Rome, Italy. emilio.dugo@iss.it.
authors.forename: Emilio
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: D'Ugo
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Santia, 00161 Rome, Italy. stefania.marcheggiani@iss.it.
authors.forename: Stefania
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marcheggiani
authors.affiliation: Istituto Superiore di Santia, 00161 Rome, Italy. laura.mancini@iss.it.
authors.forename: Laura
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Mancini
authors.affiliation: MARILIM Gesellschaft für Gewässeruntersuchung mbH Heinrich-Wöhlk-Str. 14 24232 Schönkirchen, Germany. breitenbach@marilim.de.
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Breitenbach
authors.affiliation: MARILIM Gesellschaft für Gewässeruntersuchung mbH Heinrich-Wöhlk-Str. 14 24232 Schönkirchen, Germany. mielke@marilim.de.
authors.forename: Erik
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mielke
authors.affiliation: National Center of Infectious and Parasitic Diseases, 1504 Sofia, Bulgaria. kantardj@ncipd.org.
authors.forename: Todor
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kantardjiev
mesh_terms: D059038:Black Sea; D002031:Bulgaria; D003458:Cryptosporidium / Q000302:isolation & purification; D017753:Ecosystem; D019550:Environmental Medicine; D005618:Fresh Water; D006801:Humans; D009161:Mycobacterium / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D011998:Recreation; D012621:Seasons; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014876:Water Pollution
keywords: Bulgaria; PCR; molecular detection; monitoring pathogens