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

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 ( Enterocyt...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Parasitology research (1987) 2011-09, Vol.109 (3), p.595-603
Main Authors: Cheng, Hui-Wen A., Lucy, Frances E., Graczyk, Thaddeus K., Broaders, Michael A., Mastitsky, Sergey E.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Applied sciences
Aquatic resources
Biochemical oxygen demand
Biological and medical sciences
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Biomedicine
Constructed wetlands
Drug resistance in microorganisms
Encephalitozoon - isolation & purification
Encephalitozoon hellem
Encephalitozoon intestinalis
Enterococcus - isolation & purification
Enterocytozoon - isolation & purification
Enterocytozoon bieneusi
Environmental health
Environmental Microbiology
Exact sciences and technology
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
General aspects and techniques. Study of several systematic groups. Models
Health aspects
Humans
Immunology
Indicators (Biology)
Invertebrates
Ireland
Medical Microbiology
Microbiology
Original Paper
Pollution
Public health
Purification
Rivers
Seasons
Sewage
Sewage - microbiology
Sludge
Spores, Fungal - isolation & purification
Temperature
Trout
Wastewaters
Water Purification
Water treatment and pollution
Water treatment plants
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Summary: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  
ISSN:0932-0113
1432-1955
DOI:10.1007/s00436-011-2291-x