The Water Cycle, a Potential Source of the Bacterial Pathogen Bacillus cereus

Figure 4

Fate of B. cereus ss vegetative cells introduced in groundwater. Counts of CFUs and thermoresistant CFUs (i.e., spores) of B. cereus ss were performed over time. Two independent experiments (triangles, replicate 1; circles, replicate 2) are presented. Full symbols and full lines: B. cereus ss total CFU; open symbols and dashed lines: B. cereus ss thermoresistant CFU; grey horizontal line: detection threshold (3.48 log CFU/L). The data below the detection threshold were arbitrarily set at 3.36 log CFU/L. (This value corresponds to the maximum CFU value possible below the detection limit.)