Abstract
Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) is one of the most commonly heard sources of foodborne outbreaks but presently lacks studies of in the Kathmandu Valley. This study explored the presence of STEC in river water (n = 17), groundwater (n = 83), feces (n = 50), and manure (n = 20) in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Samples that were confirmed to be E. coli–positive using the Colilert assay in previous studies were selected to examine the presence of the sfmD, stx1, and stx2 genes using quantitative polymerase chain reaction. Based on Colilert/sfmD gene ratios, the percentage of viable cells of E. coli in the fecal (2.0% ± 2.5%), manure (0.1% ± 0.1%), river water (3.4% ± 3.1%), and groundwater samples (3.9% ± 5.8%) were determined. The presence of the stx1 gene was observed in the fecal (6%), river water (53%), and groundwater (2%) samples, whereas the stx2 gene was detected in the fecal (8%), manure (5%), and river water (71%) samples. Interestingly, the stx/sfmD gene ratios in the groundwater samples were greater than 100%, suggesting the presence of other stx1/stx2-harboring microorganisms. These findings indicated the importance of continuing investigation into waterborne sources of STEC contamination within the Kathmandu Valley.
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Data Availability
The datasets used in this study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Suresh Das Shrestha (Tribhuvan University, Nepal), Kei Nishida, Takashi Nakamura, and Bijay Man Shakya (University of Yamanshi, Japan) for their support in water sampling; and Ocean Thakali (Tribhuvan University, Nepal; currently University of Yamanashi, Japan) for his support in the laboratory analysis.
Funding
This study was supported by the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) program of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), entitled “Hydro-microbiological Approach for Water Security in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal,” and the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS) through Fund for the Promotion of Joint International Research (Fostering Joint International Research (B)) (grant number JP18KK0297).
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Conceptualization, N.S., J.B.S., and E.H.; formal analysis, N.S.; funding acquisition, E.H. and F.K.; investigation, N.S., B.M., R.G.S., S.T., and E.H.; methodology, N.S., B.M., R.G.S., S.T., and E.H.; supervision, E.H. and F.K.; validation, N.S., B.M., and E.H.; visualization, N.S. and E.H.; writing—original draft preparation, N.S.; writing—review and editing, B.M., R.G.S., S.T., J.B.S., E.H., and F.K.; all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
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Sthapit, N., Malla, B., Ghaju Shrestha, R. et al. Investigation of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli in Groundwater, River Water, and Fecal Sources in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Water Air Soil Pollut 231, 557 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-04920-4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-020-04920-4