Assessment of Bacterial Accumulation and Environmental Factors in Sentinel Oysters and Estuarine Water Quality from the Phang Nga Estuary Area in Thailand

Saharuetai Jeamsripong, Rungtip Chuanchuen and Edward R. Atwill
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Saharuetai Jeamsripong: Research Unit in Microbial Food Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance, Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Rungtip Chuanchuen: Research Unit in Microbial Food Safety and Antimicrobial Resistance, Department of Veterinary Public Health, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University, Pathumwan, Bangkok 10330, Thailand
Edward R. Atwill: Western Institute for Food Safety and Security, School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95618, USA

IJERPH, 2018, vol. 15, issue 9, 1-17

Abstract: This study characterized microbiological and chemical contamination of oyster meat and estuarine water in Phang Nga, Thailand. Pooled oyster meats ( n = 144), estuarine waters ( n = 96) and environmental parameters were collected from March, 2016 to February, 2017, and assessed for levels of total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC), Escherichia coli (EC), and Vibrio parahaemolyticus (VP), presence of Salmonella and Shigella and levels of heavy metals (Mn, Pb and Cd). The prevalence of TC, FC and EC were in 99.3%, 94.4% and 93.1% of oyster meat and 94.8%, 79.2%, and 78.1% of water, respectively. The average VP levels was 8.5 × 10 7 most probable number (MPN)/g oyster. Prevalence of Shigella and Salmonella in the pooled oysters were 7.6% and 30.6%, respectively. The dominant Salmonella serovars were Paratyphi B followed by Seremban, and Kentucky. In contrast, the prevalence of Shigella were 27.1%, but Salmonella was not detected in estuarine water. Factors statistically associated with EC accumulation in oyster were level of FC, 7-day average precipitation, temperature, relative humidity, and presence of Salmonella in the sample. The optimal cutoff value of EC to predict Salmonella in oyster was 420 MPN/g. Results indicate this area has relatively safe levels of heavy metals, whereas bacterial contamination was very high for oysters.

Keywords: Escherichia coli; estuarine water; fecal coliforms; oyster; Salmonella; Shigella; Vibrio parahaemolyticus (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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