Preponderance of Enteric Pathogens Along the Coastal Waters of Southern Kerala, Southwest Coast of India

Bacterial population in the coastal waters of southern Kerala was investigated at six selected transects. From the present study six major groups of enteric bacteria, viz, Escherichia coli, Shigella spp., Salmonella spp., Vibrio para- haemolyticus and Vibrio choleraeare screened. The distribution of enteric bacteria was more in the nearshore than the offshore environments and the highest occurrence was found along the Cochin transect followed by Neendakara attributed to indis- criminate discharge from the industrial effluents, harbour and municipal sewage enriched with enteric microbes.The minimum occurrence was encountered at Veli transect might be due to the acidic effluent discharged from Travancore Titanium Products Limited (TTP), seems to have severe drop in seawater pH and adversely affected proliferation of enteric patho- gens.Relatively low bacterial load in the offshore stations compared to nearshore may be attributed to salinity variations and marginal stress from the saline water. The result of the study provides insight into the ecology of this aquatic species and is potentially important for the understanding of the epidemiology of enteric diseases on a regional scale.