Dataset Information

Removal of Fecal Indicators, Pathogenic Bacteria, Adenovirus, Cryptosporidium and Giardia (oo)cysts in Waste Stabilization Ponds in Northern and Eastern Australia.

ABSTRACT: Maturation ponds are used in rural and regional areas in Australia to remove the microbial loads of sewage wastewater, however, they have not been studied intensively until present. Using a combination of culture-based methods and quantitative real-time PCR, we assessed microbial removal rates in maturation ponds at four waste stabilization ponds (WSP) with (n = 1) and without (n = 3) baffles in rural and remote communities in Australia. Concentrations of total coliforms, E. coli, enterococci, Campylobacter spp., Salmonella spp., F+ RNA coliphage, adenovirus, Cryptosporidium spp. and Giardia (oo) cysts in maturation ponds were measured at the inlet and outlet. Only the baffled pond demonstrated a significant removal of most of the pathogens tested and therefore was subjected to further study by analyzing E. coli and enterococci concentrations at six points along the baffles over five sampling rounds. Using culture-based methods, we found a decrease in the number of E. coli and enterococci from the initial values of 100,000 CFU per 100 mL in the inlet samples to approximately 1000 CFU per 100 mL in the outlet samples for both bacterial groups. Giardia cysts removal was relatively higher than fecal indicators reduction possibly due to sedimentation.

SUBMITTER: Sheludchenko M

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4730487 | biostudies-literature | 2016 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Removal of Fecal Indicators, Pathogenic Bacteria, Adenovirus, Cryptosporidium and Giardia (oo)cysts in Waste Stabilization Ponds in Northern and Eastern Australia.

Sheludchenko Maxim M Padovan Anna A Katouli Mohammad M Stratton Helen H

International journal of environmental research and public health 20160102 1

Maturation ponds are used in rural and regional areas in Australia to remove the microbial loads of sewage wastewater, however, they have not been studied intensively until present. Using a combination of culture-based methods and quantitative real-time PCR, we assessed microbial removal rates in maturation ponds at four waste stabilization ponds (WSP) with (n = 1) and without (n = 3) baffles in rural and remote communities in Australia. Concentrations of total coliforms, E. coli, enterococci, C ...[more]

PMID: 26729150

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Project description:BackgroundFood and water-borne illness caused by ingestion of (oo)cysts of Cryptosporidium and Giardia is one of the major health problems globally. Several methods are available to detect Giardia cyst and Cryptosporidium oocyst in food and water. Most of the available methods require a good laboratory facility and well-trained manpower and are therefore costly. There is a need of affordable and reliable method that can be easily implemented in resource limited settings.Methodology/principle findingsWe developed a smartphone based microscopic assay method to screen (oo)cysts of Cryptosporidium and Giardia contamination of vegetable and water samples. The method consisting of a ball lens of 1 mm diameter, white LED as illumination source and Lugols's iodine staining provided magnification and contrast capable of distinguishing (oo)cysts of Cryptosporidium and Giardia. The analytical performance of the method was tested by spike recovery experiments. The spike recovery experiments performed on cabbage, carrot, cucumber, radish, tomatoes, and water resulted in 26.8±10.3, 40.1±8.5, 44.4±7.3, 47.6±11.3, 49.2 ±10.9, and 30.2±7.9% recovery for Cryptosporidium, respectively and 10.2±4.0, 14.1±7.3, 24.2±12.1, 23.2±13.7, 17.1±13.9, and 37.6±2.4% recovery for Giardia, respectively. The spike recovery results are comparable with data obtained using commercial brightfield and fluorescence microscope methods. Finally, we tested the smartphone microscope system for detecting (oo)cysts on 7 types of vegetable (n = 196) and river water (n = 18) samples. Forty-two percent vegetable and thirty-nine percent water samples were found to be contaminated with Cryptosporidium oocyst. Similarly, thirty-one percent vegetable and thirty-three percent water samples were contaminated with Giardia cyst.ConclusionsThe newly developed smartphone microscopic method showed comparable performance to commercial microscopic methods. The new method can be a low-cost and easy to implement alternative method for simultaneous detection of (oo)cysts in vegetable and water samples in resource limited settings.

Project description:Wastewater management in the Canadian Arctic is challenging due to climate extremes, small population sizes, and lack of conventional infrastructure for wastewater treatment. Although many northern communities use waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) as their primary form of wastewater treatment, few studies have explored WSP microbial communities and assessed effluent impacts on receiving waters from a microbiological perspective. Here, we used 16S rRNA gene and metagenome sequencing to characterize WSP and receiving water microbial communities for two time points bracketing the spring WSP thaw in Baker Lake (Nunavut) and compared these results to other Nunavut WSPs in Cambridge Bay and Kugluktuk. Most amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) recovered from these WSP samples belonged to the phylum Proteobacteria, with considerable variation between the three locations and only six ASVs shared among the WSPs at >0.2% relative abundance. Wastewater indicator ASVs for the Baker Lake WSP were identified, and few indicator ASVs were detected in samples originating from other upstream or downstream sites. The metagenomic data revealed a strong enrichment of antibiotic resistance genes for WSP samples relative to downstream and reference samples, especially for genes associated with macrolide resistance. Together, our results provide a baseline characterization for WSP microbial communities, demonstrate how indicator ASVs can be used to monitor attenuation and dilution of effluent microorganisms, and reveal that WSPs can serve as hot spots for antibiotic resistance genes.IMPORTANCE Given that the microbial communities of Arctic waste stabilization ponds (WSPs) are poorly studied to date, our characterization of multiple WSP systems and time points provides important baseline data that will assist with ongoing monitoring of effluent impacts on downstream aquatic ecosystems in the Arctic. This research also identifies indicator amplicon sequence variants (ASVs) of WSPs that will be helpful for future monitoring for WSP effluent attenuation and demonstrates that WSP microbial communities are enriched in antibiotic resistance genes. Given operational and infrastructure changes anticipated for wastewater treatment systems in the Arctic, baseline data such as these are essential for further development of safe and effective wastewater treatment systems.

Dataset Information

Removal of Fecal Indicators, Pathogenic Bacteria, Adenovirus, Cryptosporidium and Giardia (oo)cysts in Waste Stabilization Ponds in Northern and Eastern Australia.

Publications

Removal of Fecal Indicators, Pathogenic Bacteria, Adenovirus, Cryptosporidium and Giardia (oo)cysts in Waste Stabilization Ponds in Northern and Eastern Australia.

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