Prevalance of selected serotype of enterobacteriaceae pathogens from sewage and drinking water environment

Enterobacteriaceae are a large family of bacteria that include pathogens such as Salmonella and Escherichia coli. They are facultative anaerobes which ferment sugar to produce lactic acid and are found in water and soil. E.coli of serotype O157:H7 causes food poisoning in humans and serious illness. It has the ability to transfer DNA via conjugation, transformation and allow genetic material to spread in existing population. Virulent strains of E.coli cause gastroenteritis, urinary tract infection and neonatal meningitis. Examples include Entero toxigenic E.coli which use fimbrial adhesins to bind to enterocyte cell in small intestine and produce LT and ST enterotoxin. On the other hand Entero pathogenic E.coli which lack fimbriae use adhesin to bind to intestinal cells which cause significant deformation. Entero invasive E.coli in humans use adhesin protein to bind and enter intestinal cells but do not produce toxin but damage cell. The present study is aimed at studying the Serotype of Enterobacteriaceae pathogens isolated from sewage and drinking water environments.