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Fate of Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis oocysts and Giardia duodenalis cysts during secondary wastewater treatments

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Abstract

This study investigates the fate of Cryptosporidium parvum and C. hominis oocysts and Giardia duodenalis cysts at four Irish municipal wastewater treatment plants (i.e., Plant A, B, C, and D) that utilize sludge activation or biofilm-coated percolating filter systems for secondary wastewater treatment. The fate of these pathogens through the sewage treatment processes was determined based on their viable transmissive stages, i.e., oocysts for Cryptosporidium and cysts for Giardia. Analysis of final effluent indicated that over 97% of viable oocysts and cysts were eliminated, except at Plant C, which achieved only 64% of oocyst removal. A significant correlation between the removal of oocysts and cysts was found at Plants A, B, and D (R = 0.98, P < 0.05). All sewage sludge samples were positive for C. parvum and C. hominis, and G. duodenalis, with maximum concentrations of 20 oocysts and eight cysts per gram in primary sludge indicating the need for further sludge sanitization treatments. This study provides evidence that C. parvum and C. hominis oocysts and G. duodenalis cysts are present throughout the wastewater processes and in end-products, and can enter the aquatic environment with consequent negative implications for public health.

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Acknowledgments

The study was supported by the Irish EPA Strive PhD grant 2007-PhD-EH-3, Fulbright Senior Specialist Fellowship (grant no. 2225 Graczyk), Johns Hopkins Center in Urban Environmental Health (grant no. P30 ES03819), School of Science Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ireland, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Science to Achieve Results (STAR) Program (grant no. RD83300201). The views expressed herein have not been subjected to the U.S. EPA review and therefore do not necessarily reflect the views of the agency, and no official endorsement should be inferred.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Research, School of Science, Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ireland

    Hui-Wen A. Cheng & Frances E. Lucy

  2. Centre for Biomolecular Environmental Public Health Research, School of Science, Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ireland

    Hui-Wen A. Cheng, Frances E. Lucy, Thaddeus K. Graczyk, Michael. A. Broaders & Michelle Connolly

  3. Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Division of Environmental Health Engineering, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 615 N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Thaddeus K. Graczyk & Leena Tamang

  4. Johns Hopkins Center for Water and Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MA, 21205, USA

    Thaddeus K. Graczyk

  5. Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MA, 21205, USA

    Thaddeus K. Graczyk

  6. Department of Environmental Science, School of Science, Institute of Technology, Sligo, Ireland

    Michael. A. Broaders & Michelle Connolly

Authors
  1. Hui-Wen A. Cheng
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  2. Frances E. Lucy
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  3. Thaddeus K. Graczyk
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  4. Michael. A. Broaders
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  5. Leena Tamang
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Correspondence to Thaddeus K. Graczyk.

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Cheng, HW.A., Lucy, F.E., Graczyk, T.K. et al. Fate of Cryptosporidium parvum and Cryptosporidium hominis oocysts and Giardia duodenalis cysts during secondary wastewater treatments. Parasitol Res 105, 689–696 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-009-1440-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00436-009-1440-y

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