Fecal pollution in water from storm sewers and adjacent seashores in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil.

A study on the distribution patterns of enteropathogenic bacteria polluting the shoreline in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, was carried out based on 72 samples obtained from three storm sewers and adjoining beach locations, Praia do Meio (PM), Areia Preta (AP) and Ponta Negra (PN). From each location, 12 water samples were taken and analyzed for fecal coliforms (FC) and Escherichia coli. In AP, two (16.7%) of the seawater samples and five (41.7%) of the storm sewer samples yielded values above 1.1 x 107 FC/100 ml, whereas only one (8.3%) of the samples from PM reached this level. There was no correlation (p > 0.05) between rainfall indices and FC values. A total of 64 E. coli isolates were obtained: 37 from the storm sewer samples and 27 from the seawater samples. Of these isolates, four (O143, two O112ac, and O124) were enteroinvasive and two (O111 and O125) were enteropathogenic. Resistance to antibiotics and to heavy metals was also analyzed. Almost 36% of the E. coli strains isolated were resistant to more than one antibiotic. All strains were resistant to zinc and copper at the highest concentration tested (250 microg/ml), and several (23.4%) were resistant to mercury at 50 microg/ml. Our results agreed with previous reports that antibiotic resistance is commonly associated with heavy-metal resistance in pathogens.

Investigaçäo sobre a microbiota de caudas de lagostas Panulirus argus (Latreille) ou Panulirus laevicauda (Latreille) processadas com tripolifosfato de sódio / Research about microbiota of the tail of the lobster Panulirus argus (Latreille) or Panulirus laevicauda (Latreille) processed with sodium tripoliphosphate

Foram avaliadas as condiçöes higiênico-sanitárias de 100 amostras de caudas de lagostas, durante a etapa de adiçäo de Tripolifosfato de Sódio (TPF), em uma indústria de pesca, do município de Fortaleza-CE. Paralelamente foram analisadas 75 amostras da soluçäo de TPF a 5%, correspondentes às amostras de lagostas retiradas, através da quantificaçäo das bactérias psicrotróficas e de S. aureus; da determinaçäo do Número Mais Provável (NMP) de coliformes fecais e da pesquisa de Salmonela. Os resultados, comparados aos padröes microbiológicos brasileiros vigentes, indicam ausência de Salmonella em todas as amostras. S. aureus, em lagostas, foi detectado numa variaçäo de zero a 1,7 x 10**3 UFC/g na etapa I e zero nas demais etapas. As soluçöes de TPF apresentaram zero na etapa I e numa variaçäo de zero a 8,05 x 10 UFC/ml e zero a 2,8 x 10**3 UFC/ml nas etapas II e III, respectativamente. Em lagostas e soluçöes de RPF, os NMPs de coliformes fecais obtidos variaram de <3a> 1,1 x 10**/g e as contagens de psicrotróficas nestas amostras oscilaram de 10**9 UFC/g e 10**3 a 10**8 UFC/ml respectivamente