MICROBIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF SOIL CONTAMINATED BY HERON (Bubulcus ibis) FAECES Aline Francisca de Souza, Maria do Carmo Barbosa Silvino-Filha, Ricardo Mendonça

Abstract

Considering the vast number of viral, bacterial, fungal and zoonotic infections that can be transmitted by birds, this study aimed to compare the microbial flora and pH of uncontaminated soils and soils contaminated by cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) feces on the banks of the Paraíba do Sul River in the city of Guaratinguetá, São Paulo. Samples of soil where cattle egrets roost, soil where the same birds roosted in 2016 and soil where there is no presence of cattle egrets were evaluated. The results showed that the soil collected at the current roosting site of the herons, where feces of these birds are present, presented a slightly acidic pH (pH 6.6), lower fungal contamination (average of 2.0 x 102 CFU/g) and higher bacterial contamination (average of 11.0 x 1010 CFU/g), in relation to the other samples analyzed. In the soil where the birds roosted in 2006, the average level of fungal contamination was 1.0 x 103 CFU/g, while bacterial contamination was 5.3 x 1010 CFU/g and the pH was neutral (7.0). The results from the soil where there were no herons showed greater fungal contamination (average of 10.0 x 103 CFU/g), but lower bacterial contamination (average of 1.4 x 1010 CFU/g), in relation to the other samples, and the pH was acidic (4.0). The microbiological variations may be related to the pH variations detected in the different soil samples analyzed.