Abstract
BackgroundIn recent years, decreasing annual rainfalls in some countries and population growth have led to a shortage of freshwater resources. Thus, recycled wastewaters has been suggested for agricultural activities. Contamination of wastewaters with pathogens is a major concern for the use of these waters. This study aimed to (i) investigate the occurrence of helminth eggs and protozoan (oo)cysts in human and livestock wastewaters, and (ii) evaluate the parasite removal efficiencies of urban and slaughterhouse treatment plants in Tehran province, Iran. One hundred and eight samples were collected from five urban and domestic wastewater treatment plants in Iran. Wastewater samples were concentrated by centrifugal-concentration and filtration methods.ResultsThe quantity of helminths egg and protozoa (oo)cyst per liter of urban raw wastewater ranged from 1.2 × 101 to 2.9 × 101 and from 9.6 × 102 to 1.9 × 103, respectively. The number of eggs and (oo)cysts per liter of animal raw wastewater ranged from 1.6 × 103 to 4.9 × 103 and 3.1 × 104 to 6.0 × 104, respectively. The helminths and protozoa identified in urban treatment plants included hookworms, Hymenolepis and Rhabditis (or probably Strongyloides), Entamoeba, Isospora, Giardia, Chilomastix and Cryptosporidium, while in slaughterhouses Trichuris, Trichostrongylus, Moniezia, Dicrocoelium, Fasciola, Entamoeba, Cryptosporidium, Eimeria and Giardia were isolated. The overall removal efficiency of eggs and (oo)cysts in the treatment plants ranged from 94.8 to 95.7% and from 79.3 to 85.8%, respectively.ConclusionThe study results revealed that the efficacy of removal of nematode eggs, and not protozoan (oo)cysts, in urban wastewater treatment plants, is in compliance with the WHO parasitological guideline (<1 nematode per liter) required for unrestricted irrigation.
Highlights
In recent years, decreasing annual rainfalls in some countries and population growth have led to a shortage of freshwater resources
Of all the helminth eggs likely to be present in wastewaters, Ascaris, Trichuris and hookworm are of particular public health concern because of severe socioeconomic consequences of an estimated 39 million DALYs lost to these infections [8]
The objectives of the present study were to investigate the occurrence of helminth eggs, protozoancysts and pseudoparasitic structures in human and livestock wastewaters, and to evaluate the egg andcyst removal efficiencies of urban and slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plants by egg andcyst recoveries in both influent- and final effluent wastewaters
Summary
In recent years, decreasing annual rainfalls in some countries and population growth have led to a shortage of freshwater resources. This study aimed to (i) investigate the occurrence of helminth eggs and protozoan (oo)cysts in human and livestock wastewaters, and (ii) evaluate the parasite removal efficiencies of urban and slaughterhouse treatment plants in Tehran province, Iran. Of all the helminth eggs likely to be present in wastewaters, Ascaris, Trichuris and hookworm are of particular public health concern because of severe socioeconomic consequences of an estimated 39 million DALYs (disability adjusted life year) lost to these infections [8]. Parasite removal in wastewater has been synonymous with the removal of intestinal nematode ova, those of Ascaris, Trichuris and the hookworms, because they occur commonly and simple purification and microscopic identification methods were available to determine their present Many of these parasites are zoonotic, can be realized to the importance of various studies based on the removal efficiency of domestic and municipal wastewater treatment plants. The objectives of the present study were to investigate the occurrence of helminth eggs, protozoan (oo)cysts and pseudoparasitic structures in human and livestock wastewaters, and to evaluate the egg and (oo)cyst removal efficiencies of urban and slaughterhouse wastewater treatment plants by egg and (oo)cyst recoveries in both influent- and final effluent wastewaters
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
