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Differential survival of potentially pathogenic, septicemia- and meningitis-causing E. coli across the wastewater treatment train
Summary
Researchers screened E. coli isolates from Canadian wastewater treatment plant effluents and found that 86 isolates carried virulence markers characteristic of extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) strains capable of causing septicemia and meningitis. Many isolates belonged to pandemic lineages (ST131, ST95, ST73) and survived chlorination, indicating that conventional wastewater treatment does not adequately eliminate clinically important pathogenic E. coli.
Abstract A growing body of evidence indicates that extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC) readily survive wastewater treatment, raising concerns about the public health risks associated with exposure to wastewater-contaminated environments. In this study, E. coli isolates recovered from chlorinated sewage or treated wastewater effluents in Canada were screened for ExPEC virulence markers. Eighty-six isolates were identified as presumptive ExPEC, clustering within major pandemic lineages including ST131, ST95, and ST73 according to multilocus sequence typing analyses. Across the whole, core, and accessory genome, 37 isolates were extremely similar to clinical bloodborne E. coli (BBEC) and neonatal meningitic E. coli (NMEC) strains, suggesting that these wastewater isolates may exhibit a similar phenotypically related pathogenic potential. Interestingly, ExPEC strains also shared accessory gene content with naturalized wastewater strains, suggesting a common genetic capacity for surviving water treatment. Collectively, these findings suggest that E. coli strains that may cause septicemia and meningitis are surviving wastewater treatment and may be transmissible through wastewater effluents.
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