Nationwide Surveillance for Pathogenic Microorganisms in Groundwater near Carcass Burials Constructed in South Korea in 2010

Ha Kyung Joung, Sang Ha Han, Su-Jung Park, Weon-Hwa Jheong, Tae Seok Ahn, Joong-Bok Lee, Yong-Seok Jeong, Kyung Lib Jang, Gyu-Cheol Lee, Ok-Jae Rhee, Jeong-Woong Park and Soon Young Paik
Additional contact information
Ha Kyung Joung: Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea, 505 Banpo-dong Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Korea
Sang Ha Han: Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea, 505 Banpo-dong Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Korea
Su-Jung Park: Environmental Infrastructure Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 404-170, Korea
Weon-Hwa Jheong: Environmental Infrastructure Research Department, National Institute of Environmental Research, Incheon 404-170, Korea
Tae Seok Ahn: Department of Environmental Science, Kangwon National University, Chuncheon-si, Gangwon-do 200-701, Korea
Joong-Bok Lee: Department of Infectious Disease, College of Veterinary Medicine, Konkuk University, Gwangiin-gu, Seoul 143-701, Korea
Yong-Seok Jeong: Department of Biology, College of Sciences, Kyung Hee University, 26, Kyungheedaero, Dongdaemun-gu, Seoul 130-701, Korea
Kyung Lib Jang: Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Sciences, Pusan National University, Busan 609-735, Korea
Gyu-Cheol Lee: Water Analysis and Research Center, Korea Institute of Water and Environment, Korea Water Resources Corp., Daejeon 306-711, Korea
Ok-Jae Rhee: DK EcoV Environmental Microbiology Lab, Biotechnology Business Incubating Center, Dankook University, Chungnam 330-714, Korea
Jeong-Woong Park: Sanigen Co. Ltd., Juan-dong, Gwacheon 427-070, Korea
Soon Young Paik: Department of Microbiology, College of Medicine, the Catholic University of Korea, 505 Banpo-dong Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Korea

IJERPH, 2013, vol. 10, issue 12, 1-18

Abstract: Widespread outbreaks of foot-and-mouth disease and avian influenza occurred in South Korea during 2010. In response to the culling of many animals to attenuate the spread of disease, South Korea used mass burial sites to dispose of the large number of carcasses; consequently, concerns about groundwater contamination by leachate from these burial sites are increasing. Groundwater is one of the main sources of drinking water, and its cleanliness is directly related to public health. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the safety of groundwater around the burial sites (total of 600 sites). A total of 1,200 groundwater samples were collected though the country, and microbial analysis was conducted during two time periods: during the spring ( n = 600; April to June 2012) and after rainfall ( n = 600; August to October, 2012; fall). Fecal coliform and Escherichia coli were detected in 173 (14.4%) and 85 (7.1%) of the 1,200 samples, respectively. Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. each were detected only once (0.083%). Clostridium perfringens was detected from 7 groundwater samples (0.583%), and E . coli O157:H7 was not detected. With respect to norovirus, only the GII type was detected from six groundwater samples (0.5%), and enterovirus was detected in 15 groundwater samples (1.25%). The frequency of E . coli that we detected was lower than that found in previous studies conducted in South Korea, but we detected higher frequency of fecal coliform than that observed in a previous report. The contamination frequencies of Salmonella spp. and Shigella spp. were very low, but C . perfringens , which could be an indicator of fecal pollution, was detected in seven regions. Overall, the results of the present study indicate a low possibility of contamination from burial sites. However, consistent monitoring is required to prevent microbial contamination of groundwater near the burial sites.

Keywords: carcass burial; groundwater; pathogenic microorganism; public health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2013
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