Waterborne Pathogens and Their Surrogates: Detection, Inactivation and Challenges

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 April 2023) | Viewed by 2438

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA
Interests: water quality; environmental microbiology; microbial fate and transport
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
CSIRO Land and Water, Ecosciences Precinct, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park, QLD 4102, Australia
Interests: identifying the microbial composition of water resources using next generation sequencing; tracking the sources of faecal pollution in environmental waters using rapid molecular based methods; development and evaluation of microbial methods for the detection and quantification of pathogens in water; quantitative microbial risk assessment; roof-harvested rainwater and recreational water quality; novel techniques for pathogen detection/quantification
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

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Co-Guest Editor
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, USA
Interests: method development; viral pathogens; wastewater microbiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues, 

The majority of waterborne disease outbreaks associated with recreational use of untreated waters are caused by pathogenic microorganisms including bacteria, parasites, and viruses, yet direct monitoring strategies for waterborne pathogens remain technically challenging, and in some cases not feasible. While fecal indicator bacteria (e.g., Escherichia coli, enterococci) and other alternative indicator organisms (i.e., bacteriophages, microbial source tracking markers, Clostridium spp.) are suitable indicators of fecal pollution, their relationship with waterborne pathogens, especially viruses, is tenuous at best, and influenced by many different factors. We are excited to announce the launch of a new Special Issue titled “Waterborne Pathogens and their Surrogates: Detection, Inactivation and Challenges”.  The focus of the Special Issue includes but is not limited to (1) occurrence of waterborne pathogens in ambient waters and wastewater, (2) methodological advances in waterborne pathogen detection and quantification, and (3) explorations of the waterborne pathogen relationship with various indicator organisms, including their inactivation properties. We welcome original research articles, literature reviews and a limited number of other communications, including perspectives and opinions.

Dr. Asja Korajkic
Dr. Warish Ahmed
Brian McMinn
Guest Editors

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Keywords

  • waterborne pathogens
  • fecal indicator organisms
  • occurrence patterns
  • detection strategies
  • inactivation/decay properties

Published Papers (1 paper)

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Research

15 pages, 914 KiB  
Article
The Effect of Protozoa Indigenous to Lakewater and Wastewater on Decay of Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Coliphage
by Asja Korajkic, Brian R. McMinn and Valerie J. Harwood
Pathogens 2023, 12(3), 378; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens12030378 - 25 Feb 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1449
Abstract
Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB: Escherichia coli and enterococci) are used to assess recreational water quality. Viral indicators (i.e., somatic and F+ coliphage), could improve the prediction of viral pathogens in recreational waters, however, the impact of environmental factors, including the effect of predatory [...] Read more.
Fecal indicator bacteria (FIB: Escherichia coli and enterococci) are used to assess recreational water quality. Viral indicators (i.e., somatic and F+ coliphage), could improve the prediction of viral pathogens in recreational waters, however, the impact of environmental factors, including the effect of predatory protozoa source, on their survival in water is poorly understood. We investigated the effect of lakewater or wastewater protozoa, on the decay (decreasing concentrations over time) of culturable FIB and coliphages under sunlight and shaded conditions. FIB decay was generally greater than the coliphages and was more rapid when indicators were exposed to lake vs. wastewater protozoa. F+ coliphage decay was the least affected by experimental variables. Somatic coliphage decayed fastest in the presence of wastewater protozoa and sunlight, though their decay under shaded conditions was-10-fold less than F+ after 14 days. The protozoa source consistently contributed significantly to the decay of FIB, and somatic, though not the F+ coliphage. Sunlight generally accelerated decay, and shade reduced somatic coliphage decay to the lowest level among all the indicators. Differential responses of FIB, somatic, and F+ coliphages to environmental factors support the need for studies that address the relationship between the decay of coliphages and viral pathogens under environmentally relevant conditions. Full article
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