Nutrient Management Technical Note No. 9 United States Department of Agriculture Natural Resources Conservation Service September 2012 Introduction to Waterborne Pathogens in Agricultural Watersheds September 2012 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) prohibits discrimination against its customers. If you believe you experienced discrimination when obtaining services from USDA, partici- pating in a USDA program, or participating in a program that receives financial assistance from USDA, you may file a complaint with USDA. Information about how to file a discrimina- tion complaint is available from the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights. USDA prohibits discrimination in all its programs and activities on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability, and where applicable, sex (including gender identity and expression), marital status, familial status, parental status, religion, sexual orientation, political beliefs, genetic information, reprisal, or because all or part of an individual’s income is derived from any public assistance program. (Not all prohibited bases apply to all programs.) To file a complaint of discrimination, complete, sign, and mail a program discrimination complaint form, available at any USDA office location or online at http://www.ascr.usda.gov, or write to: USDA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights, 1400 Independence Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20250-9410, or call toll free at (866) 632-9992 (voice) to obtain additional information, the appropriate office or to request documents. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing, or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay service at (800) 877-8339 or (800) 845-6136 (in Spanish). USDA is an equal opportunity provider, em- ployer, and lender. Persons with disabilities who require alternative means for communica- tion of program information (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, etc.) should contact USDA's TARGET Center at (202) 720-2600 (voice and TDD). Technical Note No. 9, September 2012 Acknowledgments This technical note outlines the findings from a Cooperative Agreement and a former Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) National Research Initiative (NRI) Competitive Grant study. This is a second edition of the findings of the original studies developed by Barry H. Rosen, United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Natu- ral Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Watershed Science Institute, School of Natural Resources, University of Vermont, Burlington, Vermont; Edward R. Atwill, D.V.M., Ph.D., School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis (UC Davis), Davis, California; Richard Croft, NRCS (retired); Susan Stehman, V.M.D., New York State Diagnostic Laboratory, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. Fund- ing for this study was provided by USDA NRCS. This second edition was developed by Edward R. Atwill, D.V.M., Ph.D., Melissa L. Partyka, M.S., Ronald F. Bond, Xunde Li, Ph.D., and Chengling Xiao, M.S., Western Institute for Food, Safety and Security, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, California; and Betsy Karle, M.S., UC Cooperative Extension, Glenn County, California. Editorial assistance was provided to the researchers by Luana E. Kiger, Special As- sistant State Conservationist, USDA NRCS, Davis, California. This technical note was developed under the direction of Glenn H. Car- penter, Ph.D., National Leader, Animal Husbandry, USDA NRCS, Ecological Sciences Division (ESD), Washington, DC.; Luana E. Kiger, Special Assis- tant State Conservationist, USDA NRCS, Davis, California. It was reviewed by Bill Reck, Rebecca Challender, William Boyd, Jeff Porter, Cherie Lafleur, Peter Wright, and Dr. Linda Scheffe of USDA NRCS, and Dr. Mark Borchardt, USDA Agricultural Research Service. The authors would like to thank the many landowners, scientists, and re- source agencies that helped provide material and support for this technical note. A special thanks to the staff of the NRCS and the University of Califor- nia Cooperative Extension Farm Advisors who work tirelessly on behalf of conservation, agricultural productivity, and human health to the benefit of all. Technical Note No. 9, September 2012 This page intentionally left blank. Technical Note No. 9, September 2012 Table of Contents 1. Introduction to Waterborne Zoonotic Pathogens .....................................................................................................1 1.1 Introduction .........................................................................................................................................................................1 1.2 Sources of waterborne zoonotic pathogens ...........................................................................................................2 1.3 Drinking water ....................................................................................................................................................................4 1.4 Recreational water .............................................................................................................................................................5 1.5 Pathogens of primary concern compared to secondary concern....................................................................5 1.6 References and further reading ....................................................................................................................................9 2. Waterborne Zoonotic Protozoa ........................................................................................................................................11 2.1 Cryptosporidium parvum ...............................................................................................................................................13 2.2 Giardia duodenalis ...........................................................................................................................................................15 2.3 Waterborne protozoa of secondary zoonotic concern ......................................................................................17 2.4 References and further reading ................................................................................................................................17 3. Waterborne Zoonotic Bacteria .........................................................................................................................................19 3.1 Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) ...............................................................................................................19 3.2 Campylobacter ..................................................................................................................................................................21 3.3 Salmonella enterica .........................................................................................................................................................21 3.4 Waterborne bacteria of secondary zoonotic concern ........................................................................................23 3.5 References and further reading ...............................................................................................................................25 4. Other Waterborne Pathogens of Secondary Zoonotic Concern .......................................................................27 4.1 Enteric viruses ...................................................................................................................................................................27 4.2 Enteric fungi ......................................................................................................................................................................28 4.3 Worms (helminthes) .......................................................................................................................................................28 4.4 References and further reading .................................................................................................................................29 5. Harmful Algae and Pfiesteria .................................................................................................................... 31 5.1 References and further reading .................................................................................................................................32 6. Bacterial Indicators of Fecal Contamination .......................................................................................... 33 6.1 References and further reading .................................................................................................................................36 7. Survival of Pathogens in the Environment ............................................................................................. 37 7.1 Media type and factors affecting survival of pathogens ..................................................................................37 7.2 Survival of pathogens ....................................................................................................................................................39 7.2.1 Protozoa ..........................................................................................................................................................................40 7.2.2 Bacteria ............................................................................................................................................................................43