A review of the environmental spread of Salmonella enterica serovars through water in Africa

Authors: RABIU, AKEEM - Federal University Of Health Sciences; FADIJI, OYINKANSOLA - Federal University Of Health Sciences; ADESOJI, AYODELE - Federal University Dutsin; JIMOH, SIMIAT - Federal University Of Health Sciences; Cho, Sohyun

Submitted to: Letters in Applied Microbiology
Publication Type: Review Article
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/22/2025
Publication Date: 1/22/2025
Citation: Rabiu, A.G., Fadiji, O., Adesoji, A.T., Jimoh, S.O., Cho, S. 2025. A review of the environmental spread of Salmonella enterica serovars through water in Africa. Letters in Applied Microbiology. (78): 2. https://doi.org/10.1093/lambio/ovaf005.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1093/lambio/ovaf005

Interpretive Summary: Harmful bacteria like Salmonella can be found in groundwater, surface water, and treated water used for drinking and household activities. Understanding how this bacteria spreads through water in developing societies is important. In this paper, we reviewed articles from Africa to find out how Salmonella gets into drinking water and whether it can resist antibiotics used to treat infections. We found that Salmonella is frequently found in surface water more than in groundwater because surface water lacks protection. However, the methods used to detect Salmonella in water were not enough to identify the most dangerous types, and only few reports examined if the bacteria can resist antibiotics. Better and more effective ways to identify bacteria in water are needed, similar to those used in hospitals. A global effort to describe Salmonella in environmental and treated water can help control its spread and reduce waterborne infections in Africa.

Technical Abstract: Salmonella is enteric and pathogenic bacteria in mammals but can thrive in sewage, soil, and aquatic environments because of its wide range of ecological adaptability. The spread of Salmonella infection is commonly associated with a lack of clean water, poor hygiene, and poor sanitation in developing countries. However, the input of Salmonella-contaminated surface water and groundwater in the environmental dissemination of the organism is poorly understood outside developed countries. In this review, we assessed the literature that isolated and identified Salmonella from groundwater, surface water, and treated water in Africa whilst studies that performed antibiotic susceptibility testing were also noted. We examined the dimensions through which Salmonella enters surface water and groundwater sources to understand the pattern of Salmonella spread through the examined water ecosystem. Although Salmonella was found in groundwater, the organism was often recovered from unprotected springs and river water. The insufficiency of standard methods limited the speciation of the organism into specific serovars while only few studies determined the antimicrobial resistance pattern of the isolates. Whole-genome sequencing has transformed bacterial genomic landscaping but is rarely applied to Salmonella isolates recovered from these sources. Integrating the sentry of Salmonella in environmental and treated water into the global Salmonella surveillance framework can assist in controlling typhoid fever spread and generally reduce the burden of waterborne infections in Africa.