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Bacterial pathogen incidences in sludge from Swedish sewage treatment plants

  • Leena Sahlström
  • , Elisabeth Bagge
  • , Marie-Louise Danielsson Tham
  • , Ann Albihn
  • , Anna Aspan

    Publication: Contribution to journalJournal articlepeer-review

    Abstract

    This study surveyed the presence of bacterial pathogens in eight Swedish sewage treatment plants (STPs), with four different treatment methods, focusing on detection of zoonotic bacteria in raw and treated sludge. Salmonella spp., Listeria monocytogenes, Campylobacter coli and jejuni, Escherichia coli O157 and indicator bacteria were investigated. Samplings were performed from July 2000 to June 2002, resulting in 64 raw sludge samples and 69 treated sludge samples. The samples from raw sludge (67%) and treated sludge (55%) were positive for Salmonella; 49 different serotypes were detected. Restriction enzyme analysis and pulsed field gel electrophoresis of Salmonella serotypes indicated that Salmonella persists in STPs and that there is a continuous supply of new strains. There are differences in treatment methods concerning the reduction of pathogens and indicator bacteria. If spread on arable land, sludge increases the environmental load of pathogens; this increases the risk for spreading diseases to people and animals. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)1989-1994
    Number of pages6
    JournalWater Research
    Volume38
    Issue number8
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2004

    Keywords

    • sewage sludge
    • Salmonella
    • PFGE
    • indicator bacteria
    • agriculture use

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