Listeria innocua and Salmonella panama in estuarine water and seawater: A comparative study

This study was conducted to collect information on the behavior of Listeria spp. in estuarine water and seawater. Listeria innocua was inoculated in w ater microcosms, in parallel with Salmonella panama, with the aim to obtain comparative data with this more well-known pathogen. In every situation L. innocua exhibited a more rapid die-off than S. panama, with decimal reduct ion times always shorter than those observed for S. panama. For both bacter ial strains the decimal reduction times were shorter in seawater than in es tuarine water and shorter at 18 degrees C than at 5 degrees C. In seawater, as in estuarine water, bacterial die-off was more rapid in natural water t han in sterilized water. These data obtained from a conventional approach, on culturable bacteria show the high sensitivity of listeria in water. Howe ver, the survival is long enough for bioaccumulation by shellfish in pollut ed coastal waters. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.