Studies on the contamination investigation and ERIC-PCR typing of Enterococcus faecalis in mineral and spring water

Abstract:

[Objective] The contamination of Enterococcus faecalis in source water, activated carbon filtered water and finished water from mineral and spring water plants in Guangdong province was investigated for offering important data to control the E. faecalis pollution. [Methods] The standard GB/T8538-2008/4.53 with little modification was used to detect the existence of E. faecalis, then to carry out the ERIC-PCR fingerprinting of E. faecalis. [Results] Thirty-five samples were detected positively for E. faecalis with the total contamination rate of 17%. Among the 35 positive samples, the source water, activated carbon filtered water, and finished water samples were 20 (26.3%), 13 (20%) and 2 (3.1%) respectively. According to ERIC-PCR, E. faecalis strains from 35 samples were divided into three groups and the type B was the main genotype in Guangdong province. [Conclusion] The results indicated that the contamination rate of E. faecalis in spring water in Guangdong province was much higher than that of mineral water, moreover, as far as spring water was concerned, the source water contamination rate was higher from surface water than from ground water.

Key words:Mineral water, Spring water, Enterococcus faecalis, Contamination rate, ERIC-PCR