Scientists Find MTBE Degrades Naturally

inflammation. In their study of 88 heart disease patients and 88 controls, H. pylori was found in 62% of people with heart disease and only 40% of those without the disease. In 1998, the Penn State Harrisburg team, headed by microbiologist Katherine H. Baker, discovered that H. pylori contaminated surface water and shallow private wells in rural areas of Pennsylvania and Ohio. Of 42 surface water samples and 20 shallow private well samples collected, 40% and 65% of samples, respectively, tested positive for H. pylori. The findings demonstrate a major reservoir for the bacterium outside the human body and support the possibility of a waterborne transmission route of H. pylori. A traditional indicator of microbial water quality involves testing for coliforms (microbes used as markers of fecal contamination) such as Campylobacter and Salmonella. Baker found that approximately 85% of the surface water samples contained coliforms. However, in four well water samples, H. pylori was detected in the absence of coliforms, suggesting that routine screening of water supplies for such bacteria may fail to protect consumers from exposure to H. pylori. These findings have been accepted for publication in the Journal ofApplied Microbiologv. Baker and her team also analyzed water samples from the private wells of 10 people who were diagnosed with H. pylori-related illnesses or who had concerns about their drinking water source. Samples of tap water were collected and eight of the wells were found to be contaminated with H. pylori. The small sample size "is definitely a limitation of the study," says Baker, but the statistical agreement "is enough to raise a red flag." This first direct link between contaminated drinking water and stomach ulcers was presented 2 June 1999 at the American Society for Microbiology meeting held in Chicago, Illinois. Baker suspects that H. pylori contamination of private well water could be caused by other household members infected with H. pylon; since the bacterium is believed to be transmitted through fecal-oral transmission , septic tanks could contribute to private well contamination. Although septic tanks should be located at least 100 feet from drinking water wells, siting regulations often are not enforced in rural areas. In one case, Baker found a well just 15 feet from a septic field. Unfortunately for private well owners, testing for H. pylori is not a routine laboratory task. Baker uses an expensive and time-consuming research method that involves a commercial monoclonal antibody …