pathogens in drinking water and other water …
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Eläinlääketieteellinen tiedekunta
PATHOGENS IN DRINKING WATER AND OTHER
WATER RESOURCESTarja Pitkänen
Associate Professor, University of HelsinkiChief Specialist, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL)
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
WATER, SANITATION AND HEALTH
Clean water is a basic human right(United Nations, 2010)
Drinking water should not contain harmful
substances or microbes that can cause harm
The water quality and quantity targets to
all humans are not reached
Only 54 % of world’s population have running
water
Global water scarcity delimits the use of water
in human communities
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) (who.int); https://www.unwater.org/water-facts/human-rights/
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
EXPOSURE TO CONTAMINANTS IN WATERRESOURCES
Fecal/oral
route
(ingestion)
Inhalation
(aerosols)
Skin (wounds)
Eye/ear
Drinking water, tap water
• Water supply: Groundwater, Artificial
groundwater, Surface water
Bathing water, recreation, swimming
• Natural waters: Inland and coastal
beaches
• Man-made systems: pools and spas
Irrigation, agricultural use, aquaculture
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
WATERBORNE PATHOGENSGLOBAL WATER PATHOGENS PROJECT (GWPP)
HTTP://WWW.WATERPATHOGENS.ORG/
A wide set of microbes
• Viruses, bacteria, parasites
Fecal / Environmental sources
Host-specific / Zoonotic
Typical characteristics
• Usually a low infective dose
• Good survival in the environment
Index pathogens:
Norovirus
Campylo
bacter
Cryptosporidium
Waterborne outbreaks in Finland:
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
COMMUNITY WASTEWATER AND FECAL PATHOGENS
Laine et al. (2011) Epidemiol Infect, doi:
10.1017/S0950268810002141
Waterborne outbreak at Nokia (2007)Connecting pipe from WWTP funneled treated
sewage directly into drinking water distribution
system
Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella, Shigella,
EHEC/ETEC/EAEC, Clostridium difficile,
norovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus, astrovirus,
enterovirus, Giardia
Kauppinen et al. (2019) Int J Environ Res Public
Health. doi:10.3390/ijerph16224376
Äänekoski outbreak (2016)After a pipe breakage, wastewater enter into
the drinking water distribution network from
illegally designed aeration well
Sapovirus, adenovirus, Dientamoeba
Nousiainen outbreak (2018)Wastewater and drinking water pipes broke in
the same trench
Sapovirus, norovirus (GI/GII), astrovirus,
EHEC/ETEC/EPEC, Plesiomonas
Wastewater as a resource for community level
infectious disease data, www.thl.fi/wastpan
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
AN EMERGING FECAL WATERBORNEPATHOGEN: CRYPTOSPORIDIUMNotifications from the infectious disease and animal health registers
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Cryptosporidiosis cases are rising among Finns –emerging threat for water
safety too!
https://www.thl.fi/ttr/gen/rpt/tilastot.html https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2021/10/latest-
cryptosporidium-parasite-statistics-show-rise-in-europe/
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
FECAL MICROBES AREDILUTED IN WATERSHEDS
Biomass concentration before the
analyses is essential
Membrane filtration is the main
technique
Also other kind of filtration devices
and centrifugation has been used
Analysed sample volume varies from
below 100 ml to over 100 liters
Membrane filtration (0.22/0.45 µm)
Ultrafiltration (MWCO 10-100 kDa)
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
MICROBIAL SOURCE TRACKING (MST) HOST-SPECIFIC GENETIC MARKERS TO IDENTIFY THECONTAMINANT RESERVOIR – RNA-BASED APPROACH
Rytkönen, A. et al. (2021) Front. Microbiol. 12:673306. https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2021.673306
Figure. Transmission routes of Campylobacter spp. from animal reservoirs to
humans through fecal contamination of food and water. Adapted with
permission from Christian Penny, LIST, Luxembourg. Published in:
https://www.waterpathogens.org/book/campylobacter
Rytkönen et al. 2021. Detection frequency (%) of the MST markers in the
surface water with both RNA-based and DNA-based approaches.
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
REMOVAL OF FECAL MICROBES IN THEDRINKING WATER PURIFICATION PROCESS
@POU
NOVEL TREATMENTOPTIONS TO REDUCEPOLLUTION @SOURCE
https://ledfuture.fi/
Uusheimo et al. 2018
Biochar filters as a
solution for run-offs
from animal farms https://biojussi.fi/
Eläinlääketieteellinen tiedekunta
MAN-MADE WATER ENVIRONMENTS
Cold and warm tap water, water storage
and distribution systems, cooling water,
industrial process water, pools and spas
Growth of (opportunistic) pathogens,
biofilms, decontamination measures
Risk assessment and management: public
(human) health protection, consumer
costs
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
Faculty of veterinary medicine
OPPORTUNISTIC PATHOGENS IN MAN-MADE WATER SYSTEMS
https://thl.fi/en/web/environmental-health/water/legionella-bacteria-in-water-systems
Active in biofilms in the inner surfaces of the water systemsMajority of microbes is expected to be insignificant to the human healthAlive and detached opportunistic pathogens are a public health concern
Most of the microbial quality data is based on cultivation of bacteria
Microbial community dynamicsWater treatments may affect the growth of opportunistic pathogens, e.g.:
Does chlorine favor legionella bacteria?Does chloramine disinfection favor mycobacteria?
Is copper biosidic against legionella?Do plastic pipes release organic compounds?
Water temperature as a main driverCold water temp < 20 ºC; Hot water temp > 55 ºC
Residual chlorine concentrationOligotrophic conditions
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
Eläinlääketieteellinen tiedekunta 3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
RECREATION AT PUBLIC BATHING AREAS
State of European bathing waters in 2020:
83% have excellent quality
Fecal contamination of bathing water
may lead to a waterborne outbreak
More information about viruses still needed
Cyanobacterial blooms may cause more
and more severe problems in the future
Global change in the Sea Surface Temperatures https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-sea-surface-temperature
Emerging environmental pathogen in Baltic Sea Region
Vibrio cholerae by Louisa Howard
Vibrio spp. thrive in warm (>15 ºC),
brackish (<25 ppt NaCl) aquatic
environments
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
Vibriosis at Baltic Sea region 2018Ettore Amato et al. ESCAIDE Online (24-27.11.2020)
Risk factors for severe vibriosis are age of 65 years or more and V. vulnificus or V. parahaemolyticus infection
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
Tiwari et al. Front. Public Health 2019Decay of Enterococcus faecalis, Vibrio cholerae and MS2 Coliphage in a Laboratory Mesocosm Under Brackish Beach Conditions
Enterococcus vs. Vibrio choleraesurvival in brackish mesocosmhttps://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2019.00269
Real-time mapping
ECDC, VibrioViewer
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
IN SUMMARY: WATER MICROBIOLOGY AND WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT
Compliance and
audit monitoring
Reactive or
proactive
Mitigation and
management
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen
Research team (THL/UH)
Anna-Maria Hokajärvi,
Annastiina Rytkönen, Ananda
Tiwari, Anssi Lipponen,
Kristiina Valkama, Päivi
Meriläinen, Rauni Kivistö and
Sallamaari Siponen
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
Contact:
Tarja Pitkänen, Chief Specialist
Water Microbiology Laboratory
The Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare
phone: +358 29 524 6315, [email protected]
Associate Professor in Environmental Health
HOH Helsinki One Health
University of Helsinki
Twitter: @Tarja Pitkanenhttps://www2.helsinki.fi/en/researchgroups/waterborne-
pathogens
3rd Water JPI Conference, Mülheim / Tarja Pitkänen