Survival of Campylobacter jejuni and pathogenic Escherichia coli in mahewu, a fermented cereal gruel.

The survival of strains of Campylobacter jejuni and enteropathogenic and enterotoxigenic (LT) Escherichia coli was investigated in mahewu, a traditional fermented cereal gruel. The mahewu was inoculated with 10(6) to 10(7) colony forming units of the bacterial cells per ml of the cereal gruel. None of the strains of C. jejuni were detected 30 min after inoculation. All the strains of E. coli were detected after 24 h in mahewu but did not show any increase in numbers of surviving cells. The enterotoxigenic E. coli strains showed a more marked decrease in numbers than did enteropathogenic E. coli strains during the 24 h period after inoculation in the mahewu. This suggests that mahewu has some antimicrobial qualities and is unlikely to play a major role in the transmission of these 2 enteric pathogens.