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Municipal wastewater treatment plants as removal systems and environmental sources of human-virulent microsporidian spores

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Abstract

Municipal wastewater treatment plants play a vital role in reducing the microbial load of sewage before the end-products are discharged to surface waters (final effluent) or local environments (biosolids). This study was to investigate the presence of human-virulent microsporidian spores (Enterocytozoon bieneusi, Encephalitozoon intestinalis, and Encephalitozoon hellem) and enterococci during treatment processes at four Irish municipal secondary wastewater treatment plants (plants A–D). Microsporidian abundance was significantly related to seasonal increase in water temperature. Plant A had the least efficient removal of E. intestinalis spores (32%) in wastewater, with almost 100% removal at other plants both in April and July. Some negative removal efficiencies were obtained for E. bieneusi (at plants C and D, −100%) and for E. hellem (at plants A and D, −90% and −50%). In addition, a positive correlation was found between the levels of enterococci and E. bieneusi in July (r s = 0.72, P < 0.05). In terms of the dewatered biosolids, a median concentration as high as 32,000 spores/Kg of E. hellem was observed at plant D in July. Plant C sewage sludge contained the lowest microsporidian loadings (E. bieneusi; 450 spores/L and 1,000 spores/L in April and July, respectively). This study highlights the seasonal variation in concentrations of microsporidian spores in the incoming sewage. Spores in final effluents and dewatered biosolids can be the source of human-virulent microsporidian contamination to the local environment. This emphasizes a considerably high public health risk when sewage-derived biosolids are spread during summer months. This study also suggested enterococci as a potential indicator of the presence of microsporidian spores in wastewater, especially for E. bieneusi.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the Irish EPA STRIVE PhD grant 2007-PhD-EH-3, Fulbright Senior Specialist Fellowship (grant no. 2225 Graczyk), Johns Hopkins Center in Urban Environmental Health (grant no. P30 ES03819), School of Science, Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ireland, and the US Environmental Protection Agency Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program (grant no. RD83300201). We would like to acknowledge Irish local authorities for providing access to wastewater treatment plants.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Research, School of Science, Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ireland

    Hui-Wen A. Cheng

  2. Centre for Biomolecular Environmental Public Health Research, School of Science, Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ireland

    Hui-Wen A. Cheng, Frances E. Lucy, Thaddeus K. Graczyk & Michael A. Broaders

  3. Department of Environmental Science, School of Science, Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ireland

    Frances E. Lucy & Michael A. Broaders

  4. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Division of Environmental Health Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Thaddeus K. Graczyk

  5. Johns Hopkins Center for Water and Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Thaddeus K. Graczyk

  6. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Thaddeus K. Graczyk

  7. Department of Theoretical Bioinformatics, German Cancer Research Centre, Heidelberg, Germany

    Sergey E. Mastitsky

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  1. Hui-Wen A. Cheng
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  2. Frances E. Lucy
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Correspondence to Frances E. Lucy.

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Cheng, HW.A., Lucy, F.E., Graczyk, T.K. et al. Municipal wastewater treatment plants as removal systems and environmental sources of human-virulent microsporidian spores. Parasitol Res 109, 595–603 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2291-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-011-2291-x

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