Risk-based critical concentrations of enteric pathogens for recreational water criteria and recommended minimum sample volumes for routine water monitoring

Abstract

Concerns are rising about the contamination of recreational waters from human and animal waste, along with associated risks to public health. However, existing guidelines for managing pathogens in these environments have not yet fully integrated risk-based pathogen-specific criteria, which, along with recent advancements in indicators and markers, are essential to improve the protection of public health. This study aimed to establish risk-based critical concentration benchmarks for significant enteric pathogens, i.e., norovirus, rotavirus, adenovirus, Cryptosporidium spp., Giardia lamblia, Campylobacter jejuni, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli O157:H7. Applying a 0.036 risk benchmark to both marine and freshwater environments, the study identified the lowest critical concentrations for children, who are the most susceptible group. Norovirus, C. jejuni, and Cryptosporidium presented lowest median critical concentrations for virus, bacteria, and protozoa, respectively: 0.74 GC, 1.73 CFU, and 0.39 viable oocysts per 100 mL in freshwater for children. These values were then used to determine minimum sample volumes corresponding to different recovery rates for culture method, digital polymerase chain reaction and quantitative PCR methods. The results indicate that for children, norovirus required the largest sample volumes of freshwater and marine water (52.08 to 178.57 L, based on the 5th percentile with a 10 % recovery rate), reflecting its low critical concentration and high potential for causing illness. In contrast, adenovirus and rotavirus required significantly smaller volumes (approximately 0.24 to 1.33 L). C. jejuni and Cryptosporidium, which required the highest sampling volumes for bacteria and protozoa, needed 1.72 to 11.09 L and 4.17 to 25.51 L, respectively. Additionally, the presented risk-based framework could provide a model for establishing pathogen thresholds, potentially guiding the creation of extensive risk-based criteria for various pathogens in recreational waters, thus aiding public health authorities in decision-making, strengthening pathogen monitoring, and improving water quality testing accuracy for enhanced health protection.