E. Mitscherlich E.H. Marth Microbial Survival in the Environment Bacteria and Rickettsiae Important in Human and Animal Health Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg New York Tokyo 1984 Dr. Dr. h.c. EILHARD MITSCHERLICH em. Prof. Veterinary Institute Georg-August-University of Gottingen 3400 Gottingen, FRG Prof. Dr. ELMER H. MARTH Department of Food Science and the Food Research Institute University of Wisconsin Madison, Wisconsin 53706, USA ISBN-13: 978-3-642-69976-4 e-ISBN-13: 978-3-642-69974-0 DOl: 10.1007/978-3-642-69974-0 Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data. Mitscherlich, E. (Eilhard), 1913- . Microbial survival in the environment. Bibliography: p. . Includes index. 1. Bacteria, Pathogenic-Handbooks, manuals, etc. 2. Rickettsia-Handbooks, manuals, etc. 3. Microbial ecology-Handbooks, manuals, etc. 4. Microbial growth-Handbooks, manu als, etc. 5. Food-Microbiology-Handbooks, manuals, etc. I. Marth, Elmer H. II. Title. QR46.M63 1984 616'.01 84-14183 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically those of translation, reprinting, re-use of illustra tions, broadcasting, reproduction by photocopying machine or similar means, and storage in data banks. Under § 54 of the German Copyright Law, where copies are made for other than private use, a fee is payable to "Verwertungsgesellschaft Wort", Munich. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 1984 Softcover reprint of the hardcover 18t edition 1984 The use of registered names, trademarks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. Product Liability: The publisher can give no guarantee for information about drug dosage and application thereof contained in this book. In every individual case the respective user must check its accuracy by consulting other pharmaceutical literature. Typesetting, printing and bookbinding: Universitatsdruckerei H. Stiirtz AG, Wiirzburg 2131/3130-543210 Preface This book is a collection of data on the tenacity in the environment of bacteria and some rickettsiae important in medicine and veterinary medicine. These data are of fundamental importance to physicians, veterinarians, epidemiologists and others when, in their practices, they are confronted with epidemics of contagious diseases or outbreaks of foodborne illnesses. At such times prompt answers are often needed to limit the problem, and thus to protect the public's health. Since data needed for such a purpose are widely distributed in the internatio nal scientific literature, the occasional desperate literature search is likely to miss some of the information that is available. This book seeks to fill that void. It lies in the nature of a compilation such as this is that it can never be totally complete. The compilation requires continual up-dating to include new information, and some currently acceptable information may have to be corrected as new data become available. However, most of the information in this compilation will never be out-of-date. The authors are always thankful for suggestions from others. Collection of the data in this book resulted from, first, several decades of studying the literature, and, second, literature searches made by the Institut fUr Dokumentationswesen in Frankfurt a.M., the Biomedi zinische Datenbank of Hoechst A.G., the Dokumentationsstelle fUr Veterinarmedizin in West Berlin, the Deutsches Institut fiir medizini sche Dokumentation und Information in Cologne, the Institute for Scientific Information in Philadelphia, and MEDLARS of the National Library of Medicine in Washington, D.C. We are grateful to these organizations for their help in providing information and references for use in this book. This compilation contains some data obtained at the tum of the century; only such early data are included as were thought to be reliable. For example, when Vibrio cholerae and Yersinia pestis were discovered, there was much more interest in their survival in the environment than there has been in later decades. Hence, to provide information about these bacteria, data from early experiments were included. Data on the survival of bacteria in the environment are biological data. They result from the influence of many factors on the microorga nism. Kind of bacterium, age, stage of growth, and nutritive conditions during growth influence results as much as do environmental factors which either enhance or retard growth or survival of the organism. Hence, the usefulness of the data becomes greater if the conditions under which they were obtained are accurately and completely de scribed. We have attempted to do this as far as it was possible within VI Preface the limitations both of the size of this book and the contents of the original reports. As an environmental factor, we have included the substrate in or on which a given bacterium was found or grown. Also included are the common physicochemical factors such as low temperatures, high tem peratures, irradiation, drying, pressure and water activity, all of which impinge on the substrate. Included with the substrates are the averte brates (fleas, flies, mosquitoes, etc.) which are of importance as cyclical or acyclical carriers of certain bacteria. However, the effects of disinfec tants and sanitizing agents are not included. A major section of the book provides information about genera and species of bacteria, which are arranged in alphabetical order and are named according to the 8th edition of Bergey's Manual of Determinative Bacteriology. Data for each bacterial species are also arranged alphabe tically, according to substrate. Information for each substrate is, as far as possible, again arranged alphabetically, according to physico chemical factors. Also, in this section, reference is made regularly to the two other sections of the book, tabular material and commentaries, where additional information can be found. The tabular section provides results of experiments arranged in tables. Such experiments generally dealt with more than one bacterial species. It did not seem appropriate to incorporate these data into the section on individual species of bacteria; to do so would have resulted in needless repetition of experimental methods used by the investiga tors. The section on commentaries provides information on how bacterial behavior is influenced by (1) general physicochemical factors, and (2) the surroundings in which a given bacterium. is found. This section also includes information on the growth and death of pathogenic bacte ria when they are in the soil or water. The reader of this book can obtain the desired information in two ways. If the reader is interested in the survival of a certain bacterial species in or on one of several different substrates, then the section of the book which contains information arranged according to genus and species of bacteria should be consulted. Should the reader be inter ested in knowing about the survival of different bacteria on or in a single substrate, the index section should be consulted and here the reader will be guided to the desired information in other sections of the book. Finally, we express our gratitude to the staff of Springer Verlag for the care and painstaking efforts needed to convert our manuscript into this book. EILHARD MITSCHERLICH ELMER H. MARTH Contents I Special Part Bacteria Considered in Alphabetical Order: Vide index . 1-560 II Tables 1 Growth limits, temperature, hydrogen ion concentration 563-573 2 Hydrogen ion concentration · 574 3-9 Air 574-577 10 Beer (298) 577, 687 11-13 Bread and baker's ware · 578 14-18 Buffer 579-580 19 Carbonated soft drinks · 581 20 Carcass and organs 581-582 21-22 Carpet, carpeting · 582 23 Ceramic · 583 24-26 Chocolate 583-584 27 Cocoa (298) 584,688 28-29 Coffee (298) 584-585, 688 30-47 Culture . · 585-592 48-51 Dust · 592-593 52-64 Eggs (298) 594-599, 688 65-66 Farinaceous products · 600 67-80 Fats (298) · 600-605, 688 81-86 Feces · 605-{)07 87-91 Foods of casserole type (298) .607-{)O9,688 92 Fruits (298) · 609,688 93-100 Fruit products, fruit juice · 610-614 101-110 Glass, desiccation · 614-617 111-115 Honey (298) · 618-619, 688 116-121 Ice cream (298) 619-621, 688 122 Kitchen refuse . · 621 123-124 Litter 621-622 125 Manure, liquid · 622 126-129 Mayonnaise, acid (298) 622-624 130--134 Meat (298) .624-626,688 135-140 Meat products (298) .626-628,689 141 Membrane filter · 628-629 142-152 Metal (298) .629-633,689 153-173 Milk (298) · 634-642, 689 174-183 Milk products · 642-{)45 184-186 Mineral water (298) .645-646,689 VIII Contents 187-188 Nuts (298) 646-647, 689 189-196 Paper 647-650 197-199 Pasture . 650-651 200 Pharmaceutical products, sugar · 652 201 Plasma, human, cold resistance · 652 202-203 Plastic material 652-653 204 Rubber, ionizing radiation resistance · 653 205-230 Salt 653-662 231-239 Seawater 662-666 240-241 Semen, animal 666 242 Sewage .. · 667 243 Shellfish · 667 244 Shrimps (298) 667, 689 245-250 Skin 667-669 251-253 Sludge 669-670 254-261 Slurry 670-674 262-264 Soap 674-675 265-281 Soil 675-682 282-283 Spices (298) 682-683, 689 284-286 Spirits (298) 683-684, 689 287 Tea (298) .684,689 288-295 Textiles (298) 684-686,689 296-297 Urine · 687 298 Various substrata . 687-691 299-304 Vegetables (298) 691-693, 689 305-327 Water 693-701 324-327 Water activity 701-704 Wood · 705 ill Units and Commentaries on Behavior of Bacteria 1 General Physicochemical Influences 709 Cold resistance 709 Heat resistance 710 Radiation resistance 716 Desiccation 722 Pressure 722 Water activity (water availability) 723 2 Special Influences of the Environment 725 Air and dust 725 Buffer 728 Butter 728 Cheese 728 Honey 729 Litter 729 Milk, fermented 729 Oil . 730 Contents IX Salt 730 Shellfish 731 Skin . 731 Slurry 732 Soil 732 Pathogenic bacteria growing in soil 735 Textiles . . 738 Vegetables 738 Water 738 Pathogenic bacteria growing in seawater or marine sediments 740 Pathogenic bacteria growing in freshwater and freshwater sediments . 741 11{ Iteferences 745-787 V Subject Index 789-802 Bacteria 790 Environment 795 Av ertebrates as Vectors of Bacteria 795 Bacterial Cultures 798 Bever\lges . . . . 798 Bodies of Man and Animal, their Parts and Excretions 799 Feed ........... . 799 Food, Spices, Salt and Tobacco 799 Fundamental Elements of the Environment 801 Houses ....... . 801 Instruments, Medical . . 801 Pharmaceutical Products 801 Stables . . . . . . . . 801 Technical Basic Materials 801 Toilet and Toilet Articles 802 Wastes of Man and Animal 802 Units and Abbreviations at technical atmosphere 722 atm physical atmosphere 722 a value ....... . 723 w bar Bar ...... . 722 beta bioI biological decay rate 726 D value . 711 Do value 720 Death rate 710 Decay constant 710 Decimal reduction time curve (D curve) 711 d.l.m. dosis letalis media erg ..... . 717 eV electron volt 717 F value 711 Half-life period 711 J Joule 717 K value ... 710 k value 710 Mean expectation of life 710 ~W microwatt 717 n.f.t. not further tested Pa Pascal .... . 722 r Roentgen .... . 719 rad radiation absorbed dose 719 rep Roentgen equivalent physical unit 719 Thermal death time curve (F curve) 711 ZD value 711 ZF value ........... . 711 I Special Part Bacteria Considered in Alphabetical Order Vide Index