[Isolation of Escherichia vulneris in drinking water]

Over a 2-year period, we performed 33 bacteriological controls of drinking water supplied by refrigerated fountains located in a nursing home. Amongst 24 strains of gram-negative bacilli isolated from 16 samples. 10 were identified as belonging to the species Escherichia vulneris. Viable bacterial counts were always less than 10 ufc/100 ml. During the same period no clinical isolate of E. vulneris was recovered from the nursing home. The signification of E. vulneris in drinking water is unknown. However, considering that E. vulneris has been implicated as cause of various infections, its presence in potable water supply systems would seem to be a potential risk factor for severely immunocompromised patients.