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Global Environmental Changes, Pathogens Spread and Influences on Infectious Diseases

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A special issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (ISSN 1660-4601). This special issue belongs to the section "Environmental Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 1 May 2024 | Viewed by 4890

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Prof. Dr. Aline Viancelli

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Guest Editor

Research Group on Engineering, Performance and Environmental Quality, Universidade do Contestado (PMPECSA), Concórdia 89711-330, SC, Brazil
Interests: environmental microbiology; bacteriphages; emerging contaminants; water quality; biogas; swine manure; environmental virology

Prof. Dr. William Michelon

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Guest Editor

Research Group on Engineering, Performance and Environmental Quality, Universidade do Contestado (PMPECSA), Concórdia 89711-330, SC, Brazil
Interests: microalgae; phycoremediation; circular economy; water footprint; wastewater treatment; environmental microbiology

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Human behavior is the main factor of environmental changes. From water pollution to climatic changes, all of them can have consequences such as the emergence and reemergence of certain infectious diseases, which have being more frequent all around the world, due to the wide spread of pathogenic organisms. Multidisciplinary fields, such as biology, environmental engineering, medicine, veterinary and all those related to One Health concept, have studied the complex environmental systems related to spread of pathogens and ocurrence of infection diseases. In this context, the key players on pathogens dissemination are animals (by zoonotic pathogens), water, food, wastewater and other residues that may be a reservoir of bacteria, virus or parasites. So that, the present Special Issue of International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health invites the submisstion of original articles and reviews addressing these topics, especially, but not limited to, those reporting the detection of pathogens on enviromental systems, alternatives and safe practices to minize the occurrence of infection diseases.

Prof. Dr. Aline Viancelli
Prof. Dr. William Michelon
Guest Editors

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Keywords

wastewater treatment
foodborne disease
waterborne disease
one health
zoonotic disease
water quality
risk assessment
climatic changes
wet events
flood events

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 2409 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Development of a COVID-19 Vulnerability Index (CVI) for the Counties and Residents of New Jersey, USA

by Remo DiSalvatore, Sarah K. Bauer, Jeong Eun Ahn and Kauser Jahan

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(13), 6312; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20136312 - 07 Jul 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1324

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019, or COVID-19, has impacted countless aspects of everyday life since it was declared a global pandemic by the World Health Organization in March of 2020. From societal to economic impacts, COVID-19 and its variants will leave a lasting impact on our society and the world. During the height of the pandemic, it became increasingly evident that indices, such as the Center for Disease Control’s (CDC) Social Vulnerability Index (SVI), were instrumental in predicting vulnerabilities within a community. The CDC’s SVI provides important estimates on which communities will be more susceptible to ‘hazard events’ by compiling a variety of data from the U.S. Census and the American Community Survey. The CDC’s SVI does not directly consider the susceptibility of a community to a global pandemic, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the four themes and 15 factors that contribute to the index. Thus, the objective of this research is to develop a COVID-19 Vulnerability Index, or CVI, to evaluate a community’s susceptibility to future pandemics. With 15 factors considered for CDC’s SVI, 26 other factors were also considered for the development of the CVI that covered themes such as socioeconomic status, environmental factors, healthcare capacity, epidemiological factors, and disability. All factors were equally weighted to calculate the CVI based on New Jersey. The CVI was validated by comparing index results to real-world COVID-19 data from New Jersey’s 21 counties and CDC’s SVI. The results present a stronger positive linear relationship between the CVI and the New Jersey COVID-19 mortality/population and infection/population than there is with the SVI. The results of this study indicate that Essex County has the highest CVI, and Hunterdon County has the lowest CVI. This is due to factors such as disparity in wealth, population density, minority status, and housing conditions, as well as other factors that were used to compose the CVI. The implications of this research will provide a critical tool for decision makers to utilize in allocating resources should another global pandemic occur. This CVI, developed through this research, can be used at the county, state, and global levels to help measure the vulnerability to future pandemics. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Environmental Changes, Pathogens Spread and Influences on Infectious Diseases)

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12 pages, 1252 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Enterobacteria Survival, Percolation, and Leaching on Soil Fertilized with Swine Manure

by William Michelon, Nivia Rosana Weber Peter, Tamili Martins Schneider, Dara Cristina Segalla and Aline Viancelli

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(7), 5283; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20075283 - 28 Mar 2023

Viewed by 1256

Abstract

Swine manure has a high load of pathogens, which can pose a risk to human and environmental health. In Brazil, studies evaluating the survival of pathogens in soil are scarce. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the survival, percolation, and leaching of enterobacteria in clayey soil after fertilization with swine manure. For this purpose, soil columns were fertilized with manure spiked with enterobacteria. The microorganisms’ behavior was monitored in terms of survival, percolation, and leaching with and without rain. Soil samples were collected, and Escherichia coli and Salmonella enterica serovar Senftemberg were quantified. The results indicated that E. coli survived for a longer period (43 days) than S. senftemberg (14 days). E. coli percolated quickly through the soil, leaching 60 cm in less than 5 min during rainy events and remaining viable for up to 24 h after the rain. The results show the importance of treating manure effectively before being added to the soil. An efficient treatment could be anaerobic digestion, followed by a pond system. Considering the characteristics of swine-producing regions, the load of effluents applied to the soil may percolate, leach, or run off and consequently contaminate water bodies with pathogens. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Environmental Changes, Pathogens Spread and Influences on Infectious Diseases)

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18 pages, 2957 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of Harsh Stratospheric Conditions on Survival and Antibiotic Resistance Profile of Non-Spore Forming Multidrug Resistant Human Pathogenic Bacteria Causing Hospital-Associated Infections

by Ignacy Górecki, Agata Kołodziejczyk, Matt Harasymczuk, Grażyna Młynarczyk and Ksenia Szymanek-Majchrzak

Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20(4), 2787; https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20042787 - 04 Feb 2023

Viewed by 1759

Abstract

Bacteria are constantly being lifted to the stratosphere due to air movements caused by weather phenomena, volcanic eruptions, or human activity. In the upper parts of the atmosphere, they are exposed to extremely harsh and mutagenic conditions such as UV and space radiation or ozone. Most bacteria cannot withstand that stress, but for a fraction of them, it can act as a trigger for selective pressure and rapid evolution. We assessed the impact of stratospheric conditions on the survival and antibiotic resistance profile of common non-spore-forming human pathogenic bacteria, both sensitive and extremely dangerous multidrug-resistant variants, with plasmid-mediated mechanisms of resistance. Pseudomonas aeruginosa did not survive the exposure. In the case of strains that were recovered alive, the survival was extremely low: From 0.00001% of Klebsiella pneumoniae carrying the ndm-1 gene and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus mecA-positive with reduced susceptibility to vancomycin (MRSA/VISA), to a maximum of 0.001% of K. pneumoniae sensitive to all common antibiotics and S. aureus sensitive to vancomycin (MRSA/VSSA). We noticed a tendency towards increased antibiotic susceptibility after the stratospheric flight. Antimicrobial resistance is a current real, global, and increasing problem, and our results can inform current understandings of antibiotic resistance mechanisms and development in bacteria. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Global Environmental Changes, Pathogens Spread and Influences on Infectious Diseases)

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