Occurrence and distribution of some enteric bacteria along the southern coast of Kerala

Six major groups of enteric bacteria, viz, Faecal coliforms, E. coli, Shigella spp., Salmonella spp., Vibrio parahaemolyticus and Vibrio cholerae were screened for the present study. The overall percentage occurrence of enteric bacteria in water and sediment was maximum accounted for Vibrio parahaemolyticus (81.7%) and minimum for Salmonella spp. (9.6%) and moderate reported against Vibrio cholerae (60.6%). The distribution of enteric bacteria was more in the water sample than sediment except Vibrio spp. and the highest occurrence was found to be at Cochin transect, which is the most polluted transect due to enteric microbes. Relationship between the stations on the occurrence of enteric bacteria was linear and significant variations was observed (R=0.899) and the same pattern of linear regression model was also obtained in source wise occurrence (R=0.777). The present study elucidates that the health status of the Kerala coast may deteriorates and will be detrimental to the coastal community.