Microbiological Analysis in Three Diverse Natural Geothermal Bathing Pools in Iceland
Natural thermal bathing pools contain geothermal water that is very popular to bathe in but the water is not sterilized, irradiated or treated in any way. Increasing tourism in Iceland will lead to increasing numbers of bath guests, which can in turn affect the microbial flora in the pools and there...
Published in: | International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:b0c8c68d832b4ebb8b207f426d79d637 2023-05-15T16:46:43+02:00 Microbiological Analysis in Three Diverse Natural Geothermal Bathing Pools in Iceland Berglind Osk Th. Thorolfsdottir Viggo Thor Marteinsson 2013-03-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10031085 https://doaj.org/article/b0c8c68d832b4ebb8b207f426d79d637 EN eng MDPI AG http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/3/1085 https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601 doi:10.3390/ijerph10031085 1660-4601 https://doaj.org/article/b0c8c68d832b4ebb8b207f426d79d637 International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 10, Iss 3, Pp 1085-1099 (2013) natural geothermal pool bacterial count microbiological parameters cultured and uncultured bacteria 16S rRNA gene sequencing Medicine R article 2013 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10031085 2022-12-31T07:25:51Z Natural thermal bathing pools contain geothermal water that is very popular to bathe in but the water is not sterilized, irradiated or treated in any way. Increasing tourism in Iceland will lead to increasing numbers of bath guests, which can in turn affect the microbial flora in the pools and therefore user safety. Today, there is no legislation that applies to natural geothermal pools in Iceland, as the water is not used for consumption and the pools are not defined as public swimming pools. In this study, we conducted a microbiological analysis on three popular but different natural pools in Iceland, located at Lýsuhóll, Hveravellir and Landmannalaugar. Total bacterial counts were performed by flow cytometry, and with plate count at 22 °C, 37 °C and 50 °C. The presence of viable coliforms, Enterococcus spp. and pseudomonads were investigated by growth experiments on selective media. All samples were screened for noroviruses by real time PCR. The results indicate higher fecal contamination in the geothermal pools where the geothermal water flow was low and bathing guest count was high during the day. The number of cultivated Pseudomonas spp. was high (13,000–40,000 cfu/100 mL) in the natural pools, and several strains were isolated and classified as opportunistic pathogens. Norovirus was not detected in the three pools. DNA was extracted from one-liter samples in each pool and analyzed by partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Microbial diversity analysis revealed different microbial communities between the pools and they were primarily composed of alpha-, beta- and gammaproteobacteria. Article in Journal/Newspaper Iceland Landmannalaugar Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Landmannalaugar ENVELOPE(-19.060,-19.060,63.991,63.991) Hveravellir ENVELOPE(-19.546,-19.546,64.867,64.867) Lýsuhóll ENVELOPE(-23.223,-23.223,64.840,64.840) International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 10 3 1085 1099 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
natural geothermal pool bacterial count microbiological parameters cultured and uncultured bacteria 16S rRNA gene sequencing Medicine R |
spellingShingle |
natural geothermal pool bacterial count microbiological parameters cultured and uncultured bacteria 16S rRNA gene sequencing Medicine R Berglind Osk Th. Thorolfsdottir Viggo Thor Marteinsson Microbiological Analysis in Three Diverse Natural Geothermal Bathing Pools in Iceland |
topic_facet |
natural geothermal pool bacterial count microbiological parameters cultured and uncultured bacteria 16S rRNA gene sequencing Medicine R |
description |
Natural thermal bathing pools contain geothermal water that is very popular to bathe in but the water is not sterilized, irradiated or treated in any way. Increasing tourism in Iceland will lead to increasing numbers of bath guests, which can in turn affect the microbial flora in the pools and therefore user safety. Today, there is no legislation that applies to natural geothermal pools in Iceland, as the water is not used for consumption and the pools are not defined as public swimming pools. In this study, we conducted a microbiological analysis on three popular but different natural pools in Iceland, located at Lýsuhóll, Hveravellir and Landmannalaugar. Total bacterial counts were performed by flow cytometry, and with plate count at 22 °C, 37 °C and 50 °C. The presence of viable coliforms, Enterococcus spp. and pseudomonads were investigated by growth experiments on selective media. All samples were screened for noroviruses by real time PCR. The results indicate higher fecal contamination in the geothermal pools where the geothermal water flow was low and bathing guest count was high during the day. The number of cultivated Pseudomonas spp. was high (13,000–40,000 cfu/100 mL) in the natural pools, and several strains were isolated and classified as opportunistic pathogens. Norovirus was not detected in the three pools. DNA was extracted from one-liter samples in each pool and analyzed by partial 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Microbial diversity analysis revealed different microbial communities between the pools and they were primarily composed of alpha-, beta- and gammaproteobacteria. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Berglind Osk Th. Thorolfsdottir Viggo Thor Marteinsson |
author_facet |
Berglind Osk Th. Thorolfsdottir Viggo Thor Marteinsson |
author_sort |
Berglind Osk Th. Thorolfsdottir |
title |
Microbiological Analysis in Three Diverse Natural Geothermal Bathing Pools in Iceland |
title_short |
Microbiological Analysis in Three Diverse Natural Geothermal Bathing Pools in Iceland |
title_full |
Microbiological Analysis in Three Diverse Natural Geothermal Bathing Pools in Iceland |
title_fullStr |
Microbiological Analysis in Three Diverse Natural Geothermal Bathing Pools in Iceland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Microbiological Analysis in Three Diverse Natural Geothermal Bathing Pools in Iceland |
title_sort |
microbiological analysis in three diverse natural geothermal bathing pools in iceland |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10031085 https://doaj.org/article/b0c8c68d832b4ebb8b207f426d79d637 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-19.060,-19.060,63.991,63.991) ENVELOPE(-19.546,-19.546,64.867,64.867) ENVELOPE(-23.223,-23.223,64.840,64.840) |
geographic |
Landmannalaugar Hveravellir Lýsuhóll |
geographic_facet |
Landmannalaugar Hveravellir Lýsuhóll |
genre |
Iceland Landmannalaugar |
genre_facet |
Iceland Landmannalaugar |
op_source |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, Vol 10, Iss 3, Pp 1085-1099 (2013) |
op_relation |
http://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/10/3/1085 https://doaj.org/toc/1660-4601 doi:10.3390/ijerph10031085 1660-4601 https://doaj.org/article/b0c8c68d832b4ebb8b207f426d79d637 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph10031085 |
container_title |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
container_volume |
10 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
1085 |
op_container_end_page |
1099 |
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1766036823760437248 |