Evaluation of Bacterial Pathogens in Surface water of Cauvery River, Near Mysore, Karnataka, South India

Jessen George; Divya Lakshminarayanan; K S Sajith; Severeni Ashili; S Suriyanarayanan

Jessen George Department of Water and Health, Faculty of Life Sciences, JSS University, SS Nagar, Mysore-570015, Karnataka, India
Divya Lakshminarayanan Department of Water and Health, Faculty of Life Sciences, JSS University, SS Nagar, Mysore-570015, Karnataka, India
K S Sajith Department of Water and Health, Faculty of Life Sciences, JSS University, SS Nagar, Mysore-570015, Karnataka, India
Severeni Ashili Department of Water and Health, Faculty of Life Sciences, JSS University, SS Nagar, Mysore-570015, Karnataka, India
S Suriyanarayanan Department of Water and Health, Faculty of Life Sciences, JSS University, SS Nagar, Mysore-570015, Karnataka, India

Abstract

The aim of this study was to access the bacterial pathogens in surface water of Cauvery River, Near Mysore, Karnataka, South India. The samples were collected from 12 sampling stations, nearby respective treatment plants and analyzed over a period of year during three seasons of 2011-2013 (winter, summer and monsoon). The water samples were analyzed for the microbiological parameters such as Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC), Total Coliform Count (TCC), Faecal Coliform Count (FCC) and E. coli. The heterotrophic plate count was found in the range of 2.4Ã—10 8 CFU/ml in winter, 2.5Ã—10 8 CFU/ml in summer and 2.8Ã—10 8 CFU/ml in monsoon. The total coliform count 460 MPN/100 ml to 1,100 MPN/100ml in winter, 460 MPN/100ml to 1,533 MPN/100ml in summer and 1,100 MPN/100ml to >2,400 MPN/100ml in monsoon. The results of the study also indicate that E. coli (48%) was the most prevalent in all samples followed by Salmonella spp, Shigella spp (20%) and Yersinia spp(8%). The current study shows that during monsoon season the pathogen load is higher compared to other seasons (winter and summer).The frequent isolation of these bacterial pathogens in River Cauvery highlights the risk to human health associated with intentional and unintentional consumption of untreated surface water. This study also added the essential baseline information of the microbial population for this section of the Cauvery River.