Three potential sources of microfungi in a treated municipal water supply system in sub-tropical Australia.

Some microfungi are known to be opportunistic human pathogens, and there is a body of scientific opinion that one of their routes of infection may be water aerosols. Others have been implicated as causative agents of odours and off-tastes in drinking water. This study was undertaken to investigate three potential sources of microfungi in a treated, oligotrophic municipal water supply system in sub-tropical Australia.

Microfungi in drinking water: the role of the frog Litoria caerulea.

Microfungi were recovered from all parts of a municipal water distribution system in sub-tropical Australia even though virtually no colony-forming units were recovered from the treated water as it left the treatment plant. A study was then undertaken to determine the potential sources of the microfungal population in the distribution system. Observation of frogs (Litoria caerulea) using the internal infrastructure of a reservoir as diurnal sleeping places, together with observation of visible microfungal growth on their faecal pellets, led to an investigation of the possible involvement of this animal.

Incidence and distribution of microfungi in a treated municipal water supply system in sub-tropical Australia.

Drinking water quality is usually determined by its pathogenic bacterial content. However, the potential of water-borne spores as a source of nosocomial fungal infection is increasingly being recognised. This study into the incidence of microfungal contaminants in a typical Australian municipal water supply was carried out over an 18 month period.

Changes in cyanoprokaryote populations, Microcystis morphology, and microcystin concentrations in Lake Elphinstone (Central Queensland, Australia).

Lake Elphinstone is a tropical inland water body in the far north of the Fitzroy Catchment in Central Queensland, Australia, and has experienced recurrent toxic cyanoprokaryote blooms since 1997. This article reports on an examination of the environmental conditions of the lake and the concurrent cyanoprokaryote species together with their toxicity. The lake was sampled three times during periods of high cyanoprokaryote cell concentrations.