Issue 12, 2017

Estimating the probability of illness due to swimming in recreational water with a mixture of human- and gull-associated microbial source tracking markers

Abstract

Beaches often receive fecal contamination from more than one source. Human sources include untreated sewage as well as treated wastewater effluent, and animal sources include wildlife such as gulls. Different contamination sources are expected to pose different health risks to swimmers. Genetic microbial source tracking (MST) markers can be used to detect bacteria that are associated with different animal sources, but the health risks associated with a mixture of MST markers are unknown. This study presents a method for predicting these health risks, using human- and gull-associated markers as an example. Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment (QMRA) is conducted with MST markers as indicators. We find that risks associated with exposure to a specific concentration of a human-associated MST marker (HF) are greater if the HF source is untreated sewage rather than treated wastewater effluent. We also provide a risk-based threshold of HF from untreated sewage at a beach, to stay below a predicted illness risk of 3 per 100 swimmers, that is a function of gull-associated MST marker (CAT) concentration.

Graphical abstract: Estimating the probability of illness due to swimming in recreational water with a mixture of human- and gull-associated microbial source tracking markers

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
12 Jul 2017
Accepted
24 Oct 2017
First published
24 Oct 2017

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2017,19, 1528-1541

Estimating the probability of illness due to swimming in recreational water with a mixture of human- and gull-associated microbial source tracking markers

K. I. Brown, K. E. Graham, J. A. Soller and A. B. Boehm, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2017, 19, 1528 DOI: 10.1039/C7EM00316A

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