Evaluation of the Cape Town Protocol for the isolation of Campylobacter spp. from environmental waters: short communication

Abstract

Campylobacter is recognised as one of the major causes of bacterial gastro-enteritis world-wide. In addition to poultry products, milk and water have also been implicated as possible sources of infection. Methods for the detection and isolation of this organism have been developed specifically for the medical field and select for Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli, excluding all other species of Campylobacter, whereas the filter-based Cape Town Protocol reportedly yields most Campylobacter spp. The Cape Town Protocol was evaluated for possible use in analysis of environmental water samples. It yielded only 0.1% of the total number of actively growing C. jejuni and C. coli cells, whereas the selective medium mCCDA yielded 10%. Analysis of 60 water samples yielded 221 putative Campylobacter isolates, but only four could be confirmed as Arcobacter butzleri and none as Campylobacter. Our results indicated that neither the Cape Town Protocol nor mCCDA can be used for the direct enumeration or isolation of Campylobacter spp. from environmental water samples.


Keywords: Campylobacter, Arcobacter, Water-borne pathogens


(WaterSA: 2003 29(2): 225-229)