Salmonella regrowth in compost as influenced by substrate (salmonella regrowth in compost).

Composting can eliminate pathogenic organisms, including salmonellae, from sewage sludge. However, if salmonellae are present in the compost at undetectable levels or are inoculated into the compost by infected animals or from other sources, they may regrow presenting a health hazard for certain uses of compost. In this study, we examined dilute mineral-salt extracts of three composts from widely separate composting sites in the United States and found that they supported growth ofSalmonella typhimurium. From kinetic studies of the growth of the organism on these extracts, we concluded that each compost produced on extraction a single water-soluble substrate and that the substrates from the different composts were very similar, if not identical.

Microbially mediated growth suppression and death of salmonella in composted sewage sludge.

The role of compost microflora in the suppression of salmonella regrowth in composted sewage sludge was investigated. Microbial inhibition studies of salmonella growth were conducted on nutrient agar, in composts that had been subjected to different temperatures in compost piles, and in radiation sterilized composts inoculated with selected fractions of the compost microflora. Agar assays of inhibition indicated that bacteria and actinomycetes were not suppressive to salmonellae, but a few fungi were. However, compost inoculation assays showed consistently that fungi were not suppressive, but bacteria and actinomycetes were. In compost inoculation assays, microbial antagonists, when present, either killed salmonellae or reduced their growth rate. No suppression of salmonellae occurred in compost taken from 70°C compost-pile zones despite the presence and growth of many types of microbes. With greater numbers and kinds of microbes in 55°C compost, salmonella growth was suppressed 100-10,000-fold. Salmonellae died when inoculated into compost from unheated zones (25-40°C) of piles. Prior colonization of compost with only noncoliform gram-negative bacteria suppressed salmonellae growth 3,000-fold. Coliforms when inoculated prior to salmonellae accounted for 75% of salmonella die-off. Mesophilic curing to allow colonization of curing piles in their entirety by gram-negative bacteria, especially coliforms, should be an effective way to prevent repopulation by salmonellae.

Occurrence, growth, and suppression of salmonellae in composted sewage sludge.

Composted sewage sludge may be used to improve soil quality, but there remains some doubt concerning the microbiological safety of the product. Sewage sludge composts from 30 municipalities were sampled, and four samples (12%) contained salmonellae (two contained fewer than 0.3/g, and the other two had 21/g and 1.7 X 10(4)/g). All 30 composts were inoculated with salmonellae; the populations decreased at a specific death rate of about 0.15 h-1 over 24 h at 36 degrees C. In irradiation-sterilized composts inoculated with salmonellae, the salmonellae grew at a rate of 0.65 doublings per h for over 24 h. Growth and death rates were found to be moisture and flora associated. The growth or death rates for antibiotic-resistant salmonellae were not different from those of nonresistant strains. It was concluded that the active indigenous flora of compost establishes a homeostatic barrier to colonization by salmonellae, and in the absence of competing flora, reinoculated salmonellae may grow to potentially hazardous densities. The active microflora of moist composts eliminated contaminating salmonellae (10(5)/g) after 6 weeks.

Modified agar medium for detecting environmental salmonellae by the most-probable-number method.

Salmonellae in the environment remain a potential source of disease. Low numbers of salmonellae have been detected and enumerated from environmental samples by most-probable-number methods which require careful colony selection from a plated agar medium. A modified xylose lysine brilliant green medium was prepared to control the loss of selectivity caused by heating the brilliant green component. Added agar reduced colony spreading. The medium contained 47 g of xylose lysine agar base per liter; the agar content was adjusted to 2%, autoclaved, cooled to 50 degrees C, and then amended just before pouring to include H2S indicator and 7 ppm (7 ml of 1:1,000 brilliant green per liter) of unheated brilliant green dye. H2S-positive salmonellae were easily detected from sewage sludge compost to the exclusion of most other gram-negative bacteria. As a result, fewer non-salmonellae were picked for further most-probable-number analysis, greatly reducing the work load associated with the most-probable-number method. Direct plating was possible for enumerating salmonellae in laboratory composts containing ca. 10(3) or more salmonellae.

Inactivation by ionizing radiation of Salmonella enteritidis serotype montevideo grown in composed sewage sludge.

S. enteritidis ser. montevideo were grown in composted sewage sludge to levels of approximately 10(9)/g. These bacteria were found to be inactivated by ionizing radiation at approximately the same rate (30 krads/log) as Salmonella species in liquid digested sludge.

Relationship of the frequency of isolation of Salmonellae to their resistance to drying and freezing.

The resistance of different Salmonella serotypes to drying and freezing has been shown to be related to their incidence in salmonellosis.