OCCURRENCE AND DISTRIBUTION OF STAPHYLOCOCCUS AUREUS AND COLIFORM BACTERIA IN THE INNER GULF OF THAILAND

Global warming is a phenomenon that causes many environmental issues, including the frequency of heat waves, severity of storm surges, changes in rain pattern, flooding, and coastal erosion. In Thailand, the worst flooding in 2011 has imposed more impacts to the environment, human life and socioeconomic activities. The exceeding amount of floodwater was drained into the adjoining Gulf of Thailand in order to solve the flooding problem. As a result, the inner Gulf of Thailand was affected by the high volume of floodwater together with pathogenic bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus and coliform bacteria which are generally used as indicators of a number of other bacteria. The results from this study revealed that total coliforms had higher spread rate toward the west coast of the inner Gulf, while S. aureus was found to be highest at the central part of the inner Gulf of Thailand. In general, the highest abundance of both the examined groups was observed during November 2011 after the high rainfall (flood) event.