Campylobacters in water, sewage and the environment

Thermophilic campylobacters are widespread in the environment, where they are a sign of recent contamination with animal and avian faeces, agricultural run-off and sewage effluent. Although intestinal carriage of campylobacters is ubiquitous in livestock, domestic animals, wild animals, wild birds and poultry, contamination of the environment with the bacteria in faeces is intermittent and varies seasonally, depending on factors such as stress and changes in diet. Wild birds, and not sewage effluent, are the source of campylobacters in some coastal waters. The density of Campylobacter spp. in sewage effluent depends on the source of the sewage and the type of treatment. There is a qualitative, but not a quantitative, correlation between campylobacters and faecal indicators in environmental samples. The marked seasonal pattern of campylobacters in temperate, aquatic environments is a result of variations in Campylobacter die-off rates at different times of the year.