Microbial Source Tracking in a Watershed Dominated by Swine

Author： Liwimbi Lloyd Graves Alexandria K. Israel Daniel W. Heugten Eric van Robinson Bradford Cahoon Charles W. Lubbers Joice F.

Publisher： MDPI

E-ISSN： 2073-4441|2|3|587-604

ISSN： 2073-4441

Source： Water, Vol.2, Iss.3, 2010-09, pp. : 587-604

Access to resources Favorite

Disclaimer: Any content in publications that violate the sovereignty, the constitution or regulations of the PRC is not accepted or approved by CNPIEC.

Previous Menu Next

Abstract

The high concentration of swine production in southeastern North Carolina generates public health concerns regarding the potential transport of pathogens from these production systems to nearby surface waters. The microbial source tracking (MST) tool, antibiotic resistance analysis (ARA), was used to identify sources of E. coli in a segment of Six Runs Creek in Sampson County, North Carolina. Among 52 water samples, fecal coliform (FC) counts averaged 272.1 ± 181.6 CFU/100 mL. Comparisons of isolates from water samples to an ARA library with an average rate of correct classification (ARCC) of 94.3% indicated an average of 64% and 27.1% of 1,961 isolates from Six Runs Creek were associated with lagoon effluent and cattle manure respectively. The potential for aerosol transport of bacteria during lagoon spray events, as well as, the potential for wildlife to serve as a vehicle of transport for bacteria from fields and lagoons to nearby surface waters should be investigated further.