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Detection and Quantification of Enteric Pathogens in Aerosols Near Open Wastewater Canals in Cities with Poor Sanitation.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Ginn, O; Rocha-Melogno, L; Bivins, A; Lowry, S; Cardelino, M; Nichols, D; Tripathi, SN; Soria, F; Andrade, M; Bergin, M; Deshusses, MA; Brown, J
Published in: Environmental science & technology
November 2021

Urban sanitation infrastructure is inadequate in many low-income countries, leading to the presence of highly concentrated, uncontained fecal waste streams in densely populated areas. Combined with mechanisms of aerosolization, airborne transport of enteric microbes and their genetic material is possible in such settings but remains poorly characterized. We detected and quantified enteric pathogen-associated gene targets in aerosol samples near open wastewater canals (OWCs) or impacted (receiving sewage or wastewater) surface waters and control sites in La Paz, Bolivia; Kanpur, India; and Atlanta, USA, via multiplex reverse-transcription qPCR (37 targets) and ddPCR (13 targets). We detected a wide range of enteric targets, some not previously reported in extramural urban aerosols, with more frequent detections of all enteric targets at higher densities in La Paz and Kanpur near OWCs. We report density estimates ranging up to 4.7 × 102 gc per mair3 across all targets including heat-stable enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, Campylobacter jejuni, enteroinvasive E. coli/Shigella spp., Salmonella spp., norovirus, and Cryptosporidium spp. Estimated 25, 76, and 0% of samples containing positive pathogen detects were accompanied by culturable E. coli in La Paz, Kanpur, and Atlanta, respectively, suggesting potential for viability of enteric microbes at the point of sampling. Airborne transmission of enteric pathogens merits further investigation in cities with poor sanitation.

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Published In

Environmental science & technology

DOI

EISSN

1520-5851

ISSN

0013-936X

Publication Date

November 2021

Volume

55

Issue

21

Start / End Page

14758 / 14771

Related Subject Headings

  • Wastewater
  • Sanitation
  • Humans
  • Feces
  • Escherichia coli
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Cryptosporidium
  • Cryptosporidiosis
  • Cities
  • Aerosols
 

Citation

APA
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ICMJE
MLA
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Ginn, O., Rocha-Melogno, L., Bivins, A., Lowry, S., Cardelino, M., Nichols, D., … Brown, J. (2021). Detection and Quantification of Enteric Pathogens in Aerosols Near Open Wastewater Canals in Cities with Poor Sanitation. Environmental Science & Technology, 55(21), 14758–14771. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c05060
Ginn, Olivia, Lucas Rocha-Melogno, Aaron Bivins, Sarah Lowry, Maria Cardelino, Dennis Nichols, Sachchida Nand Tripathi, et al. “Detection and Quantification of Enteric Pathogens in Aerosols Near Open Wastewater Canals in Cities with Poor Sanitation.Environmental Science & Technology 55, no. 21 (November 2021): 14758–71. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.1c05060.
Ginn O, Rocha-Melogno L, Bivins A, Lowry S, Cardelino M, Nichols D, et al. Detection and Quantification of Enteric Pathogens in Aerosols Near Open Wastewater Canals in Cities with Poor Sanitation. Environmental science & technology. 2021 Nov;55(21):14758–71.
Ginn, Olivia, et al. “Detection and Quantification of Enteric Pathogens in Aerosols Near Open Wastewater Canals in Cities with Poor Sanitation.Environmental Science & Technology, vol. 55, no. 21, Nov. 2021, pp. 14758–71. Epmc, doi:10.1021/acs.est.1c05060.
Ginn O, Rocha-Melogno L, Bivins A, Lowry S, Cardelino M, Nichols D, Tripathi SN, Soria F, Andrade M, Bergin M, Deshusses MA, Brown J. Detection and Quantification of Enteric Pathogens in Aerosols Near Open Wastewater Canals in Cities with Poor Sanitation. Environmental science & technology. 2021 Nov;55(21):14758–14771.
Journal cover image

Published In

Environmental science & technology

DOI

EISSN

1520-5851

ISSN

0013-936X

Publication Date

November 2021

Volume

55

Issue

21

Start / End Page

14758 / 14771

Related Subject Headings

  • Wastewater
  • Sanitation
  • Humans
  • Feces
  • Escherichia coli
  • Environmental Sciences
  • Cryptosporidium
  • Cryptosporidiosis
  • Cities
  • Aerosols