Quantitative microbial risk assessment for waterborne pathogens in a wastewater treatment plant and its receiving surface water body.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Access to safe water for drinking and domestic activities remains a challenge in emerging economies like South Africa, forcing resource-limited communities to use microbiologically polluted river water for personal and household purposes, posing a public health risk. This study quantified bacterial contamination and the potential health hazards that wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) workers and communities may face after exposure to waterborne pathogenic bacteria in a WWTP and its associated surface water, respectively.

Results

Escherichia coli (Colilert®-18/ Quanti-Tray® 2000) and enterococci (Enterolert®/ Quanti-Tray® 2000) were quantified and definitively identified by real-time polymerase chain reaction targeting the uidA and tuf genes, respectively. An approx

SUBMITTER: Mbanga J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7663859 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature