COLI-AEROGENES BACTERIA IN FARM WATER SUPPLIES

SUMMARY: A series of 825 cultures of coli-aerogenes bacteria isolated at 30° and a series of 735 cultures isolated at 37° from 645 samples of farm water supplies were classified according to the recommendations of the Coliform Sub-Committee of the Society for Applied Bacteriology (Report, 1949). Klebsiella constituted 50% of the cultures isolated at 30°, whereas Escherichia coli I was the dominant type, forming 57%, among the cultures isolated at 37°. It would thus appear that isolation at 30° is as selective for Klebsiella as isolation at 37° is for Escherichia . Coli-aerogenes organisms, mainly 37° negative strains of Citrobacter freundii I and K. cloacae , were found in waters of high sanitary quality derived from protected springs and wells; but the coli-aerogenes microflora of polluted water was dominated by E. coli I, which formed 43% of the isolates at 30° and 76% of those at 37°. The results for a series of fortnightly samples from 11 farm water supplies showed a marked seasonal variation in the incidence of different types isolated at 30°; E. coli I formed a higher proportion in summer than in winter, while 37° negative strains of Klebsiella and Citrobacter formed a higher proportion in winter than in summer.     

THE MULTIPLICATION OF COLI-AEROGENES BACTERIA IN MILK STORED AT 3–5°

SUMMARY: When 108 samples of individual farm milk supplies were held at 3—5° for 72 hr, 35·2% showed increases in coli-aerogenes organisms of over one-hundredfold and 10·2% increases of more than one-thousandfold. The coli-aerogenes microflora after refrigeration was dominated by Klebsiella cloacae and K. aerogenes I. While some strains of all the coli-aerogenes types isolated showed growth, though sometimes scanty, on yeast-dextrose agar in 5 days at 3—5°, the majority of the strains of K. cloacae showed luxuriant growth under these conditions and can be considered as typical facultative psychrophiles of milk.     

THE USE OF GLUCOSE INORGANIC SALTS MEDIA IN THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE COLI-AEROGENES BACTERIA. I. THE METHYL RED AND VOGES-PROSKAUER REACTIONS

SUMMARY: A chemically defined glucose ammonium phosphate medium gave methy red and Voges-Proskauer reactions which were superior to those in glucose peptone phosphate. Optimum condition for both tests require a starting pH of 6·8 and incubation for 3 days at 30°. The medium gave a negative correlation between the two reactions with 34 out of 35 strains that were positive to both tests in the peptone medium. The addition of glutamic acid helped to eliminate doubtful positive M. R. reactions but seemed to suppress acetylmethylcarbinol production by weakly V.-P. positive strains.     

COLI-AEROGENES BACTERIA FROM FARM DAIRY EQUIPMENT AND RAW MILK

SUMMARY: A series of 1,040 cultures of coli-aerogenes bacteria isolated at 30° from farm dairy equipment and raw milk was classified according to the recommendations of the Coliform Sub-Committee of the Society for Applied Bacteriology (Report, 1949). The distribution of species and types isolated from milk did not differ materially from that for dairy equipment, Klebsiella cloacae, K. aerogenes and Citrobacter freundii being the dominant species, while the incidence of Escherichia coli was relatively low. There was no marked seasonal incidence of any type, though E. coli I formed a slightly higher proportion of the coli-aerogenes microflora in winter, whereas K. aerogenes I was slightly higher in summer. Many of the cultures of the dominant types, K. cloacae, K. aerogenes I and Cit. freundii I, did not form acid and gas from lactose in two days at 37°. Consequently 37° negative, anaerogenic and paracolon strains constituted a relatively high proporton (49%) of the coli-aerogenes microflora.     

THE OCCURRENCE OF COLI-AEROGENES ORGANISMS ON PLANTS

SUMMARY: Coli-aerogenes bacteria were seldom found on the foliage of a wide variety of garden plants, trees and shrubs, and field plants, including pasture, except where there was a possibility of contamination by insects, animals or dust. They were present in only a few instances on the flowering heads of hay plants (wind pollinated) but on almost all the flowers of garden plants (insect pollinated). Although cereal crops are wind pollinated, coli-aerogenes organisms were found on about one-third of the grains examined. The question of their origin on grain is discussed.
In a series of paired samples of soil and of the foliage of the covering vegetation, coli-aerogenes organisms were present in most of the soil samples, but were absent from the foliage except where animal contamination was possible, as in the case of grazed pasture.
With foliage samples unlikely to have been contaminated by animals, most of the coli-aerogenes organisms isolated were A. cloacae , but with grazed pasture E. coli predominated, indicating contamination by grazing animals.
The coli-aerogenes floras of garden flowers and cereal grains corresponded closely, consisting in each case largely of A. cloacae .     

COLI-AEROGENES BACTERIA OF PASTEURIZED MILKS, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO PATHOGENIC SEROTYPES OF ESCHERICHIA COLI

SUMMARY: A total of 375 samples of retail pasteurized milk in bottles was examined from January to the end of August 1955, for coli-aerogenes bacteria and especially for pathogenic serotypes of Escherichia coli. These serotypes were not found, though 101 of the samples contained bacteria of the coli-aerogenes group. During the summer months, June-August, the percentage of contaminated samples was about 40% and 10% of the samples contained E. coli I or II. The epidemiological significance of these findings is discussed.