Environmental Aspects and Features of Critical Pathogen Groups

Aw, Tiong Gim

doi:10.14321/waterpathogens.2

Cited by 16 publications

(15 citation statements)

References 37 publications

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“…Limited data suggests that the persistence of Shigella /EIEC 91 in soil may be comparable to that of E. coli , but G. duodenalis cysts may be more persistent in the environment than E. coli . 67 , 92 , 93 This may suggest that the proportion of viable G. duodenalis we used could underestimate cyst viability. In fact, given the model’s strong sensitivity to the viability parameter, an underestimate of cyst viability would have resulted in an underestimation of G. duodenalis infection risks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Pediatric Infections Attributable to Ingestion of Fecally Contaminated Domestic Soils in Low-Income Urban Maputo, Mozambique

Capone

Bivins

Knee

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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Rigorous studies of water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) suggest that children are exposed to enteric pathogens via multiple interacting pathways, including soil ingestion. In 30 compounds (household clusters) in low-income urban Maputo, Mozambique, we cultured Escherichia coli and quantified gene targets from soils ( E. coli : ybbW , Shigella / enteroinvasive E. coli (EIEC): ipaH , Giardia duodenalis : β-giardin ) using droplet digital PCR at three compound locations (latrine entrance, solid waste area, dishwashing area). We found that 88% of samples were positive for culturable E. coli (mean = 3.2 log 10 CFUs per gram of dry soil), 100% for molecular E. coli (mean = 5.9 log 10 gene copies per gram of dry soil), 44% for ipaH (mean = 2.5 log 10 ), and 41% for β-giardin (mean = 2.1 log 10 ). Performing stochastic quantitative microbial risk assessment using soil ingestion parameters from an LMIC setting for children 12–23 months old, we estimated that the median annual infection risk by G. duodenalis was 7100-fold (71% annual infection risk) and by Shigella /EIEC was 4000-fold (40% annual infection risk) greater than the EPA’s standard for drinking water. Compounds in Maputo, and similar settings, require contact and source control strategies to reduce the ingestion of contaminated soil and achieve acceptable levels of risk.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Pediatric Infections Attributable to Ingestion of Fecally Contaminated Domestic Soils in Low-Income Urban Maputo, Mozambique

Capone

Bivins

Knee

et al. 2021

Environ. Sci. Technol.

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“…In locations with high prevalence rates of infectious disease, pathogen concentrations discharged to sanitation systems or into the environment are correspondingly high, particularly during outbreaks (Lusk et al, 2014). The risk to human health is not only driven by pathogen occurrence but also by their persistence in the environment, the presence of vectors or intermediate hosts, and the level of infectivity of individual pathogens (Aw, 2018). In addition, several diseases such as pathogenic E. Coli, salmonellae, and shigella have low infectious doses (e.g., can cause infection in humans with fewer than 20 organisms), whilst they are present in much higher concentrations in wastewater (e.g., more than 10,000 organisms/L) (Lusk et al, 2014).…”

Section: Contaminationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Costs, Climate and Contamination: Three Drivers for Citywide Sanitation Investment Decisions

Mills

Willetts

Evans

et al. 2020

Front. Environ. Sci.

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Significant progress is needed, in both large cities and small towns, to meet the ambitious targets set at international and national levels relating to universal access to safely managed sanitation. There has been increased recognition in the urban sanitation sector that in rapidly growing cities, there is unlikely to be a single centralized sanitation solution which can effectively deliver services to all demographics, and that heterogeneous approaches to urban sanitation are required. At the same time, due to competing investment priorities, there is a greater focus on the need for sanitation investments to address multiple objectives. However, calls for more informed sanitation planning and a more dynamic and disaggregated approach to the delivery and management of sanitation services have had limited impacts. This is in part due to the complexity of the drivers for sanitation investment, and the difficulties involved in identifying and addressing these multiple, often conflicting, goals. This paper examines three potential drivers of citywide sanitation decision-making-public health, sustainability and economic performance-via the three proxies of contamination, climate change and costs. It examines the importance of each driver and proxies, how they are considered in investment decisions, the current state of knowledge about them, and priority aspects to be included in decisions. At present, while public health is a common driver for improving sanitation, there are significant gaps in our understanding of fecal contamination spread and exposure, and how to select sanitation solutions which can best address them. Climate change is sometimes seen as a low priority for the sanitation sector given the immediacy and scale of existing challenges and the uncertainty of future climate predictions. However, potential risks are significant, and uninformed decisions may result in greater costs and increased inequalities. Cost data are sparse and unreliable, and it is challenging to build robust cost-effectiveness analyses. Yet these are needed to compare citywide options based on least-cost over their full life cycle. This paper provides insights into how existing evidence on contamination, climate change and costs can inform decisions on sanitation investments and help chart a sustainable way forward for achieving citywide services.

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“…It is noteworthy that majority of the bacteria, protists and helminths are zoonotic pathogens. Although several parasitic zoonotic pathogens that are transmitted via the fecal-oral route are known to cross the species barrier and spread infection among a sizeable human population; the pathways through which the pathogens emerge from the host (animal reservoir) and the mechanism behind their subsequent persistence within the human population are some of the key issues that are not still well understood and need continued scientific exploration [54,55]. The bats are thought to be the most likely ecological reservoirs for SARS-CoV-2.…”

Section: Interaction Between Covid-19 Virus Particles and The Surrounding (The Host And The Environment)mentioning

confidence: 99%

Sludge Hygienisation—A Novel Technology for Urban Areas to Deal with Incursion of COVID-19 Viral Particles in Wastewater

Majumdar

2021

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Green Societies

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The ongoing pandemic of viral infections due to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) is known to have affected about 8,240,000 people globally and approximately 3,67,000 people in India as of June 19, 2020. The pandemic being quite persistent in nature, timely planning for novel and adaptive interventions are required for dealing with it, with a view to detecting the early signs of infection, as well as, controlling the spread of the outbreak towards the uninfected population residing at comparatively safer zones. In general, the coronaviruses belong to a group of RNA viruses that are known to infect a wide range of hosts including humans, other mammals and birds, with the clinical courses in the infected hosts ranging from being asymptomatic to showing acute symptoms in the respiratory, digestive and genital organs. Although the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) is reported to spread primarily through inter-personal physical contacts rather than the faecal-oral route, evidence of gastrointestinal symptoms caused by SARS-CoV-2 infections accompanied by the detection of viral RNA in the faeces of infected individuals, with high probability of their presence in wastewater samples, makes an important case for the thorough characterization and quantification of the pathogenic materials present in the municipal sludge generated in urban centres. This becomes even more important in the case of the metro cities and dense urban centres, where the chance of the medical wastes from the COVID hospital facilities coming into the municipal sewage stream is highly likely. However, the pathogens in the municipal sewage stream become concentrated in the sludge, providing an opportunity to treat the separated sludge from the wastewater stream using a technology of irradiation called 'sludge hygienisation' to curb the outbreak of the virus. The present work provides an assessment of the sludge hygienisation technology for its suitability as an option to eradicate the viral particles accumulated in the sludge samples from urban environments that are presumably infected through the faecal deposition, as well as, due to uncurbed release of untreated biomedical wastes. Such an intervention will provide suitable means to control rapid viral outbreak that might be attributed to the high volumetric flow rate of the municipal sewage. Investment in such novel interventions, given the

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Environmental Aspects and Features of Critical Pathogen Groups

Cited by 16 publications

References 37 publications

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Pediatric Infections Attributable to Ingestion of Fecally Contaminated Domestic Soils in Low-Income Urban Maputo, Mozambique

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Pediatric Infections Attributable to Ingestion of Fecally Contaminated Domestic Soils in Low-Income Urban Maputo, Mozambique

Costs, Climate and Contamination: Three Drivers for Citywide Sanitation Investment Decisions

Sludge Hygienisation—A Novel Technology for Urban Areas to Deal with Incursion of COVID-19 Viral Particles in Wastewater

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