The use of Moore swabs for isolation of Salmonella typhi from irrigation water in Santiago, Chile.

In Chile, a country with an exceedingly high incidence of typhoid, untreated sewage is applied directly to fields where salad vegetables are cultivated. Water used for irrigation was examined for the presence of Salmonella typhi, by making use of the sewer-swab technique. S typhi was isolated in 8 (11%) of 76 irrigation samples examined from nonindustrial, polluted water. This supports the hypothesis that crops grown with water contaminated with feces are important vehicles in the transmission of S typhi in this endemic area. Since sewage treatment plants will not be available in Santiago in the near future, emphasis is being placed on devising alternative methods of irrigation and on growing vegetables that are cooked before being eaten.