The health-Related Water Microbiology Subgroup has been concerned with all aspects of public health in which water acts as a vector/reservoir of pathogens.
Microbiologists, microbial ecologists, public fitness professionals, environmental engineers, virologists, bacteriologists, and parasitologists make up this expert SG.
How pathogens may be transmitted thru water?
We seek to identify how diseases can be transferred through water and which barriers are effective in preventing transmission. Having such a diverse group of experts has proven to be our greatest asset.
As a result, the institute has been involved in talks about emerging risks such as the Ebola virus.
Although Ebola is typically spread by contact with bodily fluids from infected individuals, it has also been shown to be excreted within the sides of infected patients’ faces.
A workshop in the course of the final semi-annual assembly in Lisbon, Portugal, to talk about all of the information concerning how Ebola-containing faces need to be dealt with in Africa in addition to Europe, the US, and different countries was held.
The workshop became very a hit and confirmed how this kind of various institution of specialists can easily provide you with feasible options while confronted with this type of risky pathogen.
The HRWM Subgroup is composed of members who are concerned with all aspects of health-related water microbiology and carry out applied and fundamental research on water and microorganisms.
Core issues in health-related water microbiology
The group’s main concerns are pathogenic bacteria, parasites, and viruses research, the identification of appropriate microbial indicators for designing safety plans, modeling related risk, and developing microbial source monitoring systems, as well as disinfection and ecology.
The influence of natural disasters on the microbiological quality of drinking and recreational water is also one of the SG’s key issues.
Working with the above themes on water shortage safety, reuse, and the development of sustainable water treatments are important issues for the future.
Pathogens, both traditional and developing, must be detected and controlled in integrated water management and safety programs.
Viruses are the main cause of waterborne and water-related illnesses. The outbreak of hepatitis A and viral gastroenteritis in Shanghai was caused by mussels gathered from a sewage-polluted estuary.
Viruses associated with waterborne transmission are members of the enteric virus family, which primarily infect gastrointestinal cells and are discharged in the feces of sick persons.
Previous research has found that the manner water is collected, kept, and utilized at home frequently results in a deterioration of its microbiological quality to the point where it poses a risk to consumer health.
This appears to be the result of contaminant build-up (i.e., “biofilm”) in storage containers as a result of inadequate vessel cleanliness and individual handling of containerized water.
Disinfection
There is a wide range of pathogens that might be present and their characteristic differences in susceptibility to disinfection.
In addition, variability of factors related to the quality of the water and the state or condition of the microbes may influence microbial response to disinfection.
Hence. microbial disinfection efficacy may be quite a sight and system-specific. Studies using microbial indicators are useful but they are not capable of quantitatively predicting pathogen disinfection efficiency because of differences in disinfectant sensitivity between indicator microbes and various pathogens.
Recent studies suggest that more reliable indicators of some waterborne pathogens may be available. Specifically. enterococci and perhaps E. coli seem to correlate with risks of GI illness.
References
[1] Sobsey, M. D. (1989). Inactivation of health-related microorganisms in water by disinfection processes. Water science and technology, 21(3), 179-195.
[2] Mariette, G. (2001). The effect of various urban discharges on the microbiological water quality in catchment systems: an environmental health-related impact study (Doctoral dissertation, Bloemfontein: Central University of Technology, Free State).
[3] Kassenga, G. R. (2007). The health-related microbiological quality of bottled drinking water sold in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Journal of water and health, 5(1), 179-185.
[4] Grabow, W. O. (2007). Overview of health-related water virology. Perspectives in medical virology, 17, 1-25.
[5] Matsuo, T., Hanaki, K., Takizawa, S., & Satoh, H. (Eds.). (2001). Advances in Water and Wastewater Treatment Technology: Molecular Technology, Nutrient Removal, Sludge Reduction, and Environmental Health. Elsevier.
