Enteric pathogens and soil: a short review

Abstract

It is known that soil is a recipient of solid wastes able to contain enteric pathogens in high concentrations. Although the role of soil as a reservoir of certain bacterial pathogens is not in question, recent findings show that soil may have a larger role in the transmission of enteric diseases than previously thought. Many of the diseases caused by agents from soil have been well characterized, although enteric diseases and their link to soil have not been so well studied. Gastrointestinal infections are the most common diseases caused by enteric bacteria. Some examples are salmonellosis (Salmonella sp.), cholera (Vibrio cholerae), dysentery (Shigella sp.) and other infections caused by Campylobacter jejuni, Yersinia sp. and Escherichia coli O157:H7 and many other strains. Viruses are the most hazardous and have some of the lowest infectious doses of any of the enteric pathogens. Hepatitis A, hepatitis E, enteric adenoviruses, poliovirus types 1 and 2, multiple strains of echoviruses and coxsackievirus are enteric viruses associated with human wastewater. Among the most commonly detected protozoa in sewage are Entamoeba histolytica, Giardia intestinalis and Cryptosporidium parvum. This article reviews the existing literature of more than two decades on waste disposal practices that favor the entry of enteric pathogens to soil and the possible consequent role of the soil as a vector and reservoir of enteric pathogens.

Persistence of Salmonella Typhimurium LT2 in Soil Enhanced after Growth in Lettuce Medium

“…Microcosm experiments are good model systems to study the survival of Salmonella in soil under defined laboratory or greenhouse conditions. Diverse factors such as temperature, pH and humidity, have been demonstrated to influence the fate of Salmonella (Santamaría and Toranzos, 2003; Jacobsen and Bech, 2012). Unfortunately, experiments analyzing these factors, even if performed in similar experimental settings, often lead to contrary outcomes.…”

Salinity Stress Does Not Affect Root Uptake, Dissemination and Persistence of Salmonella in Sweet-basil (Ocimum basilicum)

“…It is well documented that a range of human pathogens, including Salmonella , can survive extended periods of time in soils (Santamaria and Toranzos, 2003; Gerba and Smith, 2005; Bernstein et al, 2007a; Liu et al, 2010; Jacobsen and Bech, 2012). Two to four months survival periods for enteric bacteria in soil were reported in a review by Gerba et al (1975), and survival duration up to 29 weeks (Islam et al, 2004) was reported for Salmonella .…”

Diversity of Antimicrobial Resistance and Virulence Determinants inPseudomonas aeruginosaAssociated with Fresh Vegetables

“…Further, use of water in postharvest processing has also played a role, for example, in trying to prevent importation of fruit flies [25]. It is well established that pathogens may be disseminated in the environment via the use of inadequately composted or raw animal manures or sewage [26, 27], via the faeces of wild animals [28], or via flies [29, 30]. Post-harvest processes, ranging from storage and rinsing to cutting, are also possible sources of contamination [31], and the use of inadequately decontaminated water in hydrocoolers, which are used to store and process large quantities of fresh produce, can lead to contamination of an entire lot [32].…”