5.4.1 Enteric pathogens of concern in drinking water

Principal enteric pathogens of concern in drinking water are summarised in Table 5.1. More details and references are included in the Fact Sheets in Part V. Only enteric pathogens with existing fact sheets in Part V are included in the table.

Table 5.1 Enteric pathogens of concern in Australian drinking water

Group	Disease	Important hosts
Bacteria
Campylobacter jejuni and C. coli	Acute gastroenteritis in most cases but can cause long-term complications e.g. Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) and Guillain-Barré syndrome	Humans and both wild and domesticated animals
Salmonella spp.	Acute gastroenteritis in most cases but can cause long-term complications e.g. reactive arthritis	Humans and both wild and domesticated animals
Pathogenic E. coli	Gastroenteritis, haemorrhagic colitis e.g. Hemolytic-Uremic Syndrome (HUS)	Humans and both wild and domesticated animals
Shigella spp.	Gastroenteritis, haemorrhagic colitis	Humans
Viruses
Adenoviruses	Gastroenteritis, acute respiratory diseases and conjunctivitis	Humans
Enteroviruses	Mild febrile illness, myocarditis, meningoencephalitis, poliomyelitis, hand-foot-and-mouth	Humans
Norovirus	Gastroenteritis	Humans
Rotavirus	Gastroenteritis	Humans
Enteric hepatitis viruses (hepatitis A)	Infectious hepatitis	Humans
Protozoa
Cryptosporidium spp.	Gastroenteritis	Most outbreaks associated with humans and livestock, but can also include close contact with wild animals
Giardia spp.	Gastroenteritis	Most outbreaks associated with humans, but can also include animals
Cyclospora spp.	Gastroenteritis	Humans (possible transmission via water and vegetables in developing countries, but no outbreaks recorded in Australia – e.g. cruise ship outbreak likely related to fresh food taken on board in South East Asia)