Fecal Coliforms Research Articles

Microbial Quality of Some Fresh-Cut Ready-to-Eat Fruits Sold in Some Markets and Bus Terminals in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana

The consumption of fruits is an important source of vitamins and micronutrients. Despite their health benefits, fruits have been linked to food-borne infections, particularly when untreated animal excreta are used in their cultivation and not properly washed before consumption. This study aimed to evaluate the parasitological, fungal, and bacteriological quality of some fresh-cut ready-to-eat fruits sold in markets and bus terminals in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana. A total of 270 fresh-cut ready-to-eat fruits, including pineapples, watermelon, pawpaw, sugarcane, and tiger nuts, were sampled from both stationary vendors and hawkers from six different locations in the Kumasi Metropolis. Samples were analysed for the presence of bacteria, fungi, and intestinal parasites using the Microbial Methods in the Bacteriological Analytical Manual (BAM) of the United States Food and Drugs Administration (2001). The pour plate technique was used to culture and grow bacteria and fungi, while the most probable number (MPN) table was employed for bacteria and fungi count. The total coliform counts ranged from 2.32 to 3.15 log cfu/g; faecal coliform counts ranged from 1.58 to 2.58 log cfu/g; enterococci count ranged from 1.06 to 1.90 log cfu/g; and fungal count ranged from 2.57 to 3.73 log cfu/g. There was a significant difference in the mean faecal coliform and enterococci counts for all fruit samples. Tiger nut had the most bacteria, while watermelon was the most fungi contaminated fruit. Shigella spp. was the commonest bacteria contaminates of fresh-cut ready-to-eat fruits sold in Kumasi. Giardia lamblia was the most abundant parasite detected. Fresh-cut ready-to-eat fruits and vegetables sold in markets and bus terminals in the Kumasi Metropolis, Ghana, are contaminated with bacteria, parasites, and fungi. These findings emphasize the need for public awareness and proper hygiene practices to reduce the risk of food-borne illnesses associated with the consumption of fresh-cut fruits.

Enhancing Disinfection Efficiency of Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent: The Role of ZnO Nanoparticles in Ultrasonic and UV-C Processes

Ultrasonic (US) and UV-C disinfection technologies have been successfully used in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for disinfection purposes. The US technology is typically used as a pre-treatment step to break down larger particles and make them more susceptible to disinfection. The UV-C technology is commonly used as a final disinfection step in many WWTPs. The study aimed to assess the potential of using Zinc Oxide (ZnO) Nanoparticles (NPs) to improve the effectiveness of UV-C and US disinfection methods in treating wastewater effluent, offering a more comprehensive solution to wastewater treatment. In this experimental study, a Laboratory US Bath (40[Formula: see text]kHz) and a UV-C lamp (16[Formula: see text]W) were used. In order to investigate the effectiveness of ZnO NPs in the reduction of microbial load, 5[Formula: see text]mg/L of ZnO NPs was added to the effluent samples. Then, samples were examined for Total Coliform (TC) and Fecal Coliform (FC) reduction by the standard MPN/100[Formula: see text]mL test. The Chick‘s law was used to calculate the efficiency of microbial load. The relationship between variables was determined by regression analysis using Excel and SPSS-ver 21 software. In this study, the samples were examined in three groups: Samples that were only exposed to sonication or received UV-C radiation with Turbidity of 18 NTU (Group A) and Turbidity of 5 NTU (Group B), and Samples that received 5 mg/L of ZnO NPs (Group C). By increasing the time from 0.5 min to 10 min in the presence of UV-C, the amount of microbial population decreased, and 2 min was considered the optimal time. The maximum removal efficiencies by US for TC were 74.07,77.7, 85.1% (40∘C) and 92.5,100, and 100% (60∘C) in group A (in 30 min sonication), 85.7, 85.7, 100% (40∘C), respectively, and were 100% in other groups (B and C), respectively. The maximum removal efficiencies by US for FC were 76.4%, 88.2%, and 100% (40∘C) and 88.2%, 100%, and 100% (60∘C) in group A (in 30 min sonication), respectively, and were 100% in other groups (B and C). In this study, an important increase in the disinfection ability of ZnO NPs has been observed in the presence of US and UV-C. So, the ZnO NPs/UV-C and ZnO NPs/US processes are valuable alternatives to conventional disinfection processes by over 90% improvement of disinfection efficiency.

Assessment of risks to the quality of water supplied in Bushenyi-Uganda using the water safety plan approach

Abstract This study assessed the effects of environmental and operational hazardous events on the Bushenyi water supply system over the period 2017–2020. Monthly secondary water quality data for the period July 2013–December 2017 were analyzed together with data from field samples collected monthly from January 2018 to November 2020. The parameters analyzed were pH, turbidity, total iron, free chlorine and faecal coliforms. Hazardous events and risks affecting the water supply at the source, treatment and distribution system were identified and assessed during the field visits. Control measures were determined during water safety plan development effective July 2017 and implemented effective August 2018. Quality of water in the distribution system met the national standards for turbidity (93%), total iron (99%), residual free chlorine (90%) and faecal coliforms (96%). pH in the storage and distribution system was below the national standard (annual mean range, 5.5–6.7). Water quality was negatively influenced by extreme seasonal weather variations at the source, source protection gaps, treatment deficiencies related to clarifier, filter and chemical dose management as well as distribution management and maintenance gaps. Improved source protection, treatment and distribution network management and maintenance are recommended for sustainable system and water quality standards.

Environmental variables and its association with faecal coliform at Madh Island beaches of megacity Mumbai, India

The abundance of fecal-indicating bacteria in water bodies are said to be influenced by environmental conditions. The effect of environmental parameters on the changing microbial population plays an important role in coastal water quality assessment. It's crucial to comprehend these patterns in order to support management initiatives for pollution control. There are studies on faecal bacteria contamination of surface water and how environmental conditions affect it, however majority of them are based on large river basins and temperate regions of developed countries. In this paper, we study the different physicochemical and physical factors of the five recreational beaches in Mumbai, India and examine how these environmental factors affect the levels of faecal indicating bacteria, namely, coliforms in the region. A relatively high number of coliform was identified from the water and sediment samples of Marve Beach (>1600 MP N/100 ml or g), followed by Erangal Beach and Danapani Beach (∼150–350 MP N/100 ml or g), exceeding the normal standard limits of <100 MP N/100 ml set by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) of India. Of the physiochemical parameters examined, BOD showed to have a strong positive correlation with the coliform bacteria. The nutrients and heavy metal concentrations did not show any major effect on the microbial population. The MIKE CMAP predicted tide, MIKE3 Flow Model FM simulated coastal current, ERA5 hourly wind, as well as SWAN model simulated nearshore wave together considerably exhibit alliance of microbial behavior in the beaches with ambient physical processes. This study reveals that Mumbai's coastal water contain significant concentrations of faecal bacteria, which, if not monitored regularly could have future consequences on the recreational activities of the region, thereby on public health. This assessment might help in simulation of water quality prediction, and for optimizing the coastal zone management and development across recreational beaches.

The potential of membrane-assisted microalgae-bacteria consortia for the treatment of real municipal sewage

Microalgae-bacteria consortia are considered a promising alternative for wastewater treatment. Photosynthesis performed by microalgae induces a self-oxygenation of the culture, eliminating the requirements for mechanical aeration. However, systems have limitations, such as high hydraulic retention times and difficulties associated with effluent clarification. Biomass retention by membranes has been explored as an alternative to overcome such problems. This work evaluated the application of a membrane-enhanced bioreactor, containing microalgae-bacteria consortia, as an alternative to provide sanitation services (sewage treatment). Two 50 L raceway reactors were operated, one provided with an external microfiltration membrane module. Both reactors were fed with real sewage, at two different hydraulic retention times, 7 and 4 h. Comparative evaluation of both systems showed a superior performance of membrane-based system, in terms of nitrogen, COD and phosphorus removal. Application of membrane filtration, as expected, provided an effluent free of solids and faecal coliforms, which is relevant when water reuse in of interest. Under the conditions of this study critical flux in the range 10–15 L m−2 h−1 were observed. As is the case of other membrane bioreactors, biomass concentration showed to be a key factor determining particle deposition, defining critical flux and fouling rate when critical flux is surpassed.

Hygienic Quality of Mbala-pinda, a Fermented Food Formulated from Local Products of Congo

This study is part of the framework for the food safety of locally consumed products in Congo. The aim was to study the hygienic quality of Mbala-pinda, a food made from fermented cassava paste and peanut paste, formulated with maize, taro, and plantain banana. To this end, five (5) types of Mbala-pinda were developed in the laboratory by modifying the traditional process and then analyzed by enumeration of total aerobic mesophilic flora, total and fecal coliforms, Staphylococcus aureus, yeasts and molds using the serial dilution technique. (NF.V 08-051-Feb. (1999), AFNOR V 08 013 and directive 2005/2073/EC). The presence of Salmonella and Shigella was also checked on specific SS medium after enrichment of the cultures. The results showed a microbial load in FMAT of 3.5. 10-3, 3.1. 10-4 and 1.5. 10-3 CFU/g respectively for samples E1, E2 and E5. This microbial load is below the threshold set by Directive 106 While samples E3 and E4 have zero FMAT load. All Mbala-pinda samples were free of bacteria from the total and faecal coliform groups, Staphylococcus aureus species, yeasts and molds, as well as Salmonella and Shigella. Thus, the formulated Mbala-pinda has a satisfactory hygienic quality. It is therefore important to promote this food by popularizing it among the population.

Evaluation of bottled drinking water and occurrence of multidrug-resistance and biofilm producing bacteria in Nepal

Health consequences arising from unsafe drinking water and water insecurity lead to increased reliance on usage of bottled water. Biofilm-producing antibiotic-resistant bacteria in bottled water may pose a risk to public health. This study aims to assess the quality of bottled drinking water with a focus on biofilm-producing and drug-resistant coliform. We analyzed 60 bottled water samples of 30 different brands purchased from Kathmandu for physicochemical and microbial analysis. The parameters pH, iron, total coliform count, Escherichia coli count, and fecal coliform count exceeded National Drinking Water Quality Standards, 2022 in 30.00%, 16.67%, 66.67%, 23.33%, and 16.67% of samples, respectively. Water quality index measurement showed 36.67% and 6.67% of bottled water samples were categorized as grade A and grade B indicating excellent and good water quality, respectively. However, 56.67% of bottled water samples fall under grade E meaning unsuitable for drinking. Among 14 coliform isolates, 85.71% and 14.29% were identified as E. coli and Klebsiella spp, respectively. The antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed that 28.57% of the isolates were multidrug-resistant and Gentamicin resistant isolates comprised 71.43%. However, none of the isolates were carbapenem (meropenem) resistant. In this study, 42.87% of the isolates were found biofilm producers with 14.29% each of strong, moderate, and weak biofilm producers. The genetic potential of biofilm-producing capacity of the isolates was assessed by Polymerase Chain Reaction amplification of bcsA and csgD genes. Our results showed that 66.67% and 50.00% of the isolates harbored bcsA and csgD genes, respectively. This study highlights potential public health hazards associated with the consumption of bottled water containing biofilm-producing and drug-resistant bacteria in Nepal.

264 Effects of L-Glutamate and L-Aspartate Supplementation on Growth Performance, Severity of Diarrhea, and Systemic Immunity of Weaned Piglets Challenged with F18 Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli

Abstract L-glutamate (Glu) and L-aspartate (Asp) exhibit multifaceted roles in cellular processes and immunological regulation in pigs. This study aimed to investigate the effects of Glu and Asp on growth performance, diarrhea, and systemic immunity of weaned piglets challenged with an enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) F18. A total of forty-nine weaned pigs (8.18 ± 1.54 kg BW) were randomly assigned to one of seven treatments, with seven piglets per treatment. The treatments included negative control (NC) and positive control (PC) that were fed with control diet without or with ETEC challenge, respectively. The other five dietary treatments were supplemented with either 1% or 2% Glu or Asp, or 50 mg/kg of Carbadox, and were challenged with ETEC. All pigs except for NC were challenged with F18 ETEC orally for three consecutive days at the dose of 1010 CFU/dose/day. The study period lasted for three weeks, with a 7-day adaptation period and 14 days post-inoculation (PI). Pig body weights, feed consumption, and fecal score were recorded throughout the experiment. Fecal samples were collected on d 2, 5, 10, and 14 PI to confirm the presence and dynamics of β-hemolytic coliforms. Blood samples were collected on d 0 before ETEC inoculation, and on d 2, 5, and 14 PI to analyze white blood cell profile. All data were analyzed with ANOVA using the PROC MIXED of SAS with pig as the experimental unit. Frequency of diarrhea was analyzed by Chi-Square analysis. Compared with PC, pigs supplemented with 1% Glu, 2% Asp, or Carbadox had greater (P &amp;lt; 0.05) average daily weight gain and gain:feed ratio from d -7 to 5 PI and d 0 to 5 PI. Pigs fed with 1% Glu had reduced (P &amp;lt; 0.05) percentage of β-hemolytic coliforms in feces on d 14 PI than PC. Compared with PC, pigs fed with NC, 1% Asp, 2% Asp, or Carbadox had decreased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) severity of diarrhea (32.47% vs. 16.23 to 24.68%). The counts of white blood cells, neutrophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes were increased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) on d 2 PI and peaked (P &amp;lt; 0.05) on d 5 PI, and were reduced (P &amp;lt; 0.05) on d 14 PI. Pigs fed with 1% Glu had least (P &amp;lt; 0.05) neutrophils:lymphocytes ratio on d 2 PI, while pigs fed with 2% Glu had greatest (P &amp;lt; 0.05) neutrophils:lymphocytes ratio on d 5 PI among all treatments. In conclusion, results of the present study indicate that dietary supplementation of 1% Glu or 2% Asp enhanced growth performance of ETEC challenged weaned pigs at early stage. Supplementation of 1% or 2% Asp also mitigated severity of diarrhea. Both amino acids modulated the systemic immunity of weaned pigs, which needs to be further investigated.

Environmental factors influencing the distribution of fecal coliform bacteria in Bandon Bay, Thailand

The presence of fecal coliform bacteria (FCB) and deteriorated water quality are prevalent problems in various coastal ecosystems leading to public health concerns. Here, we evaluated the contamination of FCB and its member, Escherichia coli, in the Tapi-Phumduang River system and Bandon Bay in Thailand, and the accumulation of FCB in oysters cultured therein. The results show significantly higher FCB and E. coli in river water than in seawater, substantiating the role that the river serves as a conduit for bacterial delivery to the bay. FCB discharged from the river to the bay during low tide was approximately 4-fold higher than during high tide. The concentrations of FCB in seawater (<79 MPN/100 mL) and oysters (<187 MPN/100 g) from the Bandon Bay are within regulatatory limits. Statistical analysis shows that various environmental parameters including salinity, turbidity, and DSi are strongly correlated with bacterial pollutants in river water, whereas bacterial pollutants in bay water are strongly correlated with salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, total nitrogen and dissolved silicate. Hence, salinity and turbidity can be used as proxies for bacterial pollution monitoring in the river, and salinity is a good proxy for indicating bacterial contamination in Bandon Bay. Thus, these two proxies may assist in a rapid assessment of bacterial pollution in aquatic environments.

Drinking Water Supply System in Kathmandu Valley

This study designed to analyze physical, chemical and microbiological parameters of drinking water quality and its management by the city water supply system in the Kathmandu Valley. The study covers 18 core areas including 32 samples sites. Altogether 325 samples collected from intake, reservoirs, treatment plants and deep wells to their connectivity as well as alternative sources such as shallow wells, tube wells, processed water and stone spouts of Sundarijal water supply system. Primary information collected through In-depth interview with 155 households (hhs), 15 focus group discussions, interview with 20 water suppliers (government and private sector) and 30 school teachers and students of linking with water supply system within the study areas. The study analyzed 7 physical, 16 chemical and 2 microbiological parameters (Total coliform (TC) and Fecal coliform (FC) following the standard methods (APHA 2000). The findings have elaborated the water quality in the source is acceptable and it is deteriorate the quality linking with its supply chains and connectivity, which is severely affected by the scaled, rusted, leakage, old pipelines and intermittence of water supply. Most of the sampling sites were microbiologically, contaminated (TC 6-&gt;180MPN/100mL and FC 1-7MPN/100mL). The processed water contains lower level of essential minerals because of reverse osmosis treatments.&#x0D; The fluoride (0.8-2mg/L), manganese (0.1-0.5mg/L), ammonia (52-70mg/L), iron 5mg/L, color (20-25°Hazen), pH (6) and turbidity (32-40 NTU) in deep wells, its supplies, well, tube wells were found beyond the value of tolerance level recommended by NDWQS and WHO guidelines. About 98% hhs used traditional methods for water management; indicates poor handling practices. Hence water quality management is a big challenge in Kathmandu Valley in terms of adequate safe water and requires regular surveillances and monitoring system for improvement.

Sustainable removal of nutrients (n and p) in a wastewater treatment plant, with eggshell (biocalcium)

Biological treatments have become insufficient to treat municipal wastewater with greater toxicity and excess nitrogen and phosphate species, thus affecting the organisms that consume the water. In this work, a process was implemented for the removal of nutrients through three stages: stage A, complete aeration (24 h, 43 months); stage B, decreased aeration (12 h, 17 months); and stage C, decreased aeration with biocalcium (12 h, 19 months). The addition of biocalcium from eggshell promoted the formation of flocks, which resulted in the removal of nitrites (61 %), nitrates (84 %), total nitrogen (57 %), total phosphorus (8.3 %), sedimentable solids (50 %), total suspended solids (69 %), BOD5 (76 %), helminth eggs (50 %) and fecal coliforms (54 %). The statistical analyses in the three stages indicated that there is a strong correlation between the concentration of fats and oils and the removal of sedimentable solids and total suspended solids, since these parameters were correlated by 97 and 89 %, respectively. Sedimentable solids were correlated with total suspended solids by 94 %, while nitrates and total nitrogen were correlated 92 %, which favors the removal of nutrients in wastewater. The increase in the concentration of nitrogen in the sludge in stage C generated a C:N ratio of 7.98. This ratio shows that the sludge is feasible for use as a mediator of soils and a biofertilizer because of the high contents of calcium, phosphorus and nitrogen. In addition, biocalcium promoted the precipitation of hydroxyapatite, struvite, calcite and quartz. In general, the three stages of the treatment contributed to the stabilization of the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in an efficient, economical, and safe way.

Green wall system coupled with slow sand filtration for efficient greywater management at households

AbstractGreen walls are gaining attention for greywater management in the imminent terrestrial space and land constraint scenario. They have been tested primarily with greywater from a single source such as showers, hand or wash basins, laundry, and kitchen or a mix of a couple of these sources but barely with mixed greywater from all these household activities. Here, a green wall system coupled with a slow sand filter (SSF) was tested for managing household greywater. It consisted of a set of five serial hydraulic flow-connected reactors and an SSF unit. Each reactor housed an Epipremnum aureum sapling embedded in the support bed matrix, consisting of cocopeat and granular activated charcoal. The system operated at 150 cm d−1 hydraulic loading rate (HLR) achieved 90 ± 0.7%, 85 ± 4.5%, 72.9 ± 4.4%, and 60.6 ± 5.1% removal efficiencies for turbidity, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorous (TP), respectively. The system maintained similar treatment performance with varying greywater strength when COD and TN were below ~400 and ~15 mg L−1, respectively. The polished effluent produced by SSF operated at 187 cm d−1 HLR, with characteristics &lt;5 mg L−1 COD, &lt;2 NTU turbidity, &lt;1 mg L−1 TN, ~0.5 mg L−1 TP, ~7.8 pH, and &lt;100 MPN per 100 ml fecal coliforms, qualifies the standards for non-potable reuse applications. Along with reclaimed water reuse, green walls provide environmental benefits by fixing CO2 in plant biomass. Overall, the low-cost system offers efficient greywater management in an eco-friendly way with minimized resource consumption and areal footprint.

Faecal contamination and its relationship with some environmental variables of four urban rivers in inner Hanoi city, Vietnam

Coliform bacteria are essential variables for assessing riverine water quality. In this study, the faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in relationship with some physico-chemical variables were investigated during the period 2020-2022 for four urban rivers (To Lich, Lu, Set, and Kim Nguu) in the inner Hanoi city to provide the updated water quality of these rivers. The results demonstrated severe faecal coliforms contamination in riverine waters compared to the permissible values of the Vietnam technical regulation for surface water quality, QCVN08-MT:2015/BTNMT column B1. Nutrients (ammonium and phosphate) concentrations and dissolved oxygen (DO) values exceeded the permissible values, whereas pH was within the standard. The Pearson analysis demonstrated the significant positive correlation between total coliforms (TC) and Escherichia coli (EC) densities and ammonium concentration in the riverine water. Besides, these variables were higher in the dry season than the rainy one for all sites observed. All these reflect the critical role of the point sources, notably domestic wastewater inputs in the four river basins. Considering these rivers' deteriorating condition, developing an effective wastewater treatment system is necessary for the rivers in Hanoi.

A comprehensive study of the estuary sea environment in the Bay of Bengal, near the Mahanadi River confluence

This study focuses on the environmental conditions of the Mahanadi Estuary near Paradeep Harbor and the adjacent sea. Data collected from May 2013 to April 2020 from 32 GPS fixed stations was analyzed to assess the water quality in different zones (estuarine, mixed zone, mixed zone south, and mixed zone north) of study area. Parameters such as pH, SST, TSS, nitrite, phosphate, silicate, TOC, chlorophyll, fecal coliform, and heavy metals were used to estimate the Water Quality Index (WQI) for each zone. The study found a deterioration (> 30%) in the overall water quality of the Mahanadi Estuary from 2013 to 2020, potentially attributed to river inflows, port activities, and industrial outflows in to the coastal ecosystem. Seasonal variations in temperature, salinity, turbidity, nitrite, nitrate, and ammonia were observed. The water quality showed a deteriorating trend in estuarine, mixed zone, mixed zone south, and mixed zone north. Based on the water quality indices, the ecosystem shows moderate levels of stress. The degraded water quality highlights the need for a targeted mitigation plan to reduce external pressures and enhance the overall ecosystem quality.Graphical

Access to water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) services and drinking water contamination risk levels in households of Bishoftu Town, Ethiopia: A cross-sectional study.

Access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene is a fundamental human right and essential to control infectious diseases. However, many countries, including Ethiopia, do not have adequate data to report on basic water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. Although contaminated drinking water spreads diseases like cholera, diarrhea, typhoid, and dysentery, studies on drinking water contamination risk levels in households are limited in Ethiopia. Therefore, closing this gap needs investigation. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted. A total of 5350 households were included. A systematic, simple random sampling technique was used to select the participants. The information was gathered through in-person interviews using a standardized questionnaire. Furthermore, 1070 drinking water samples were collected from household water storage. This investigation revealed that 9.8%, 83.9%, and 4.9% of households used limited, basic, and safely managed drinking water services, respectively. Besides, 10.2%, 15.7% and 59.3% of households used safely managed, basic and limited sanitation services, respectively. Yet, 10.6% and 4.2% of households used unimproved sanitation facilities and open defecation practices. Also, 40.5% and 19.4% of households used limited and basic hygiene services. On the other hand, 40.1% of households lacked functional handwashing facilities. In this study, 12.1%, 26.3%, and 42% of households' drinking water samples were positive for Escherichia coli, fecal coliforms, and total coliforms, respectively. Also, 5.1% and 4.5% of households' drinking water samples had very high and high contamination risk levels for E. coli, respectively. We found that 2.5% and 11.5% of households and water distributors had unacceptable fluoride concentrations, respectively. The majority of households in Bishoftu town lack access to safely managed sanitation, drinking water, and basic hygiene services. Many households' water samples had very high and high health risk levels. Hence, the government and partner organizations should implement water and sanitation safety plans.

Eichhornia crassipes Efficacy in Secondary Wastewater Treatment in the Western Highlands of Cameroon

Wastewater treatment using lagoons technology is recognised to have potential to protect the environment and preserve water resources. The implementation requires mastery of ecological conditions of operation and management of the plants used. We aimed to contribute to the implementation of macrophyte-based lagoons for wastewater treatment in the Western Highlands of Cameroon. We used two sets of four lagoons in series; one was vegetated with E. crassipes, while the other served as the control. Each set constituted an anaerobic, two facultative, and maturation lagoons. Each lagoon system was supplied with primary-treated domestic wastewater from the wastewater treatment plant of the University of Dschang, Cameroon, at a hydraulic loading rate of 1.13 m3/day. Monthly wastewater samples were collected from the inflow and outflow of each lagoon for physicochemical and bacteriological analyses, and plant growth was assessed biweekly for six months spanning the dry and rainy seasons. Macrophyte lagoons showed positive plant growth during both seasons. The highest plant height (10.67 and 25.21 cm), longer roots (11.3 and 37.41 cm), and the highest number of new buds (14 and 20 buds) were obtained during the dry and rainy seasons, respectively. Plants were significantly ( P &lt; 0.0001) taller in facultative lagoons in the rainy season than in the dry season. Vegetated lagoons significantly ( P &lt; 0.05) contributed to reducing TSS (−08.36% and 82.25%), true color (44.46% and 82.31%), orthophosphates (63.1% and 86.59%), and BOD5 (−56.79% and 56.06%) during the dry and rainy seasons, respectively. 100% elimination of fecal streptococci (FS) and 74.89% and 43.80% of fecal coliforms (FC) were observed in the dry and rainy seasons, respectively. Significant ( P = 0.0019) FS elimination was more in the dry season than in the rainy season. However, the average residual content of FC (190,000 UFC/100 ml) was still higher than WHO limits (≤1000 UFC/100 ml) for nonrestrictive reuse in agriculture. E. crassipes can be efficiently used in lagoon systems for domestic wastewater treatment in the Western Highlands of Cameroon.

Microbiological quality of Dockounou banana added to cassava flour

Banana Dockounou with cassava flour is a food made from senescent bananas. This food has a relatively short shelf life. This does not guarantee the safety of the product. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the microbiological quality of banana Dockounou with cassava flour during storage, in order to ensure consumer safety. To achieve this objective, two methodological approaches were adopted. Firstly, a consumer survey on banana Dockounou with cassava flour was carried out to update data on its consumption in the city of Abidjan. Secondly, some microbiological parameters of the sample of Dockounou added to cassava flour taken from five (5) women producers were determined during its conservation at room temperature (30°C) for eight (8) days. These studies revealed the presence of aerobic mesophilic germs (AMG) whose load varied from (2,5±0,1)×101 to (2,2 ±0,7)×107 CFU/g after 8 days of storage. At the end of these 8 days, the AMG loads recorded in the various Dockounou are higher than the microbiological criteria (3.0x104 CFU/g). The germs most frequently encountered during the conservation of Dockounou were Staphylococcus, Bacillus, total coliforms, yeasts and moulds. However, an absence of Salmonella, Clostridium, faecal coliforms was noted in all the samples analysed.

Performance evaluation and microbial profiling of integrated vertical flow constructed wetland (IVFCW) for simultaneous treatment of domestic and pulp and paper industry waste water

The present study demonstrates the potential of an integrated vertical flow-constructed wetland (IVFCW) for simultaneously treating black liquor and domestic wastewater. IVFCW was operated and monitored for 12 samples with the frequency of one sample per week with the following specifications viz,4 L of wastewater, a blend of 1:1 of pulp and paper industry effluent (black liquor BL), and domestic wastewater, was fed daily in a continuous mode with organic loading rate (OLR) of 1230 mg COD/L-Day, at a temperature range of 40-45℃ (natural temperature of the workstation). Valves controlled each chamber's hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 3 days and flow rate of 10 mL/minute. The IVFCW showed remarkable efficiency in removing various pollutants, including total suspended solids (TSS) and total dissolved solids (TDS), by 100 % and 83 %, respectively, and organic contaminants such as chemical oxygen demand (COD) and biological oxygen demand (BOD) by 80 % and 81 %, respectively. Moreover, the IVFCW efficiently reduced nutrients such as sulfates (SO₄-2), phosphates (PO₄-3), and total nitrogen by about 81 %, 63 %, and 61 %, respectively. The treatment also led to the reduction of lignin content by 83 %. Microbiological analysis revealed a significant reduction in fecal coliforms, and microbial profiling of Typha latifolia roots confirmed the presence of bacteria involved in lignin degradation. Seed germination and seedling survival were found to be negativelyaffected by untreated wastewater in a phytotoxicity study, suggesting that the wastewater's toxic chemicals could be harmful to plant life.This study highlights the effectiveness of IVFCW as a sustainable, economically viable, and resilient wastewater treatment system for mitigating environmental concerns related to the release of untreated wastewater.

Model-based prediction of bathing water quality in a lake polluted by fecal coliform bacteria from combined sewer overflows

In the European Union, recreational water quality is regulated by the bathing water directive, which requires authorities to regularly take water samples to identify fecal bacterial pollution, which can compromise the bathing water quality at designated recreational bathing water areas. Using a case study from Lake Knudsøin Denmark, this paper shows that the bathing water quality occasionally is compromised by overflows from combined sewer systems. Due to the randomness in the frequency of overflow occurrences, the entailing decrease in bathing water quality is not normally detected by the regulatory sampling campaigns. By dedicated sampling campaigns conducted in this project in the proximity of outlets and recreational bathing areas and by hydrodynamical transport modeling, it is shown that the transport patterns of pollutants are crucially and rapidly dependent on dynamic conditions. The occasional short-term pollution by fecal bacteria and consequent decrease in bathing water quality are, therefore, challenging to capture (both spatially and temporally) by regular water sampling. Rather than increasing the frequency of water sampling, an online model-based warning system for fecal bacteria contamination in bathing areas is proposed. This warning system framework includes: (1) dynamical modeling of combined sewer overflow based on rainfall over a catchment area, (2) a hydrodynamical model that simulates current fields in multiple vertical layers based on wind forcing and water fluxes, and (3) a particle dispersion model which provides an estimate of pollutant concentrations. The output from the model has shown potential to issue bathing prohibition if there is a risk of fecal bacteria concentrations below the criteria for good bathing water quality.

141 Dietary Supplementation of Blends of Organic Acids and Monoglycerides Alleviated Diarrhea and Systemic Inflammation of Weaned Pigs Experimentally Infected with Enterotoxigenic Escherichia Coli F18

Abstract The objective of this experiment was to investigate dietary supplementation of organic acids blend, monoglycerides blend, and combination of both on growth performance, diarrhea, and systemic inflammation of weaned pigs experimentally infected with a pathogenic Escherichia coli (E. coli) F18. Forty pigs (7.81 ± 0.84 kg BW) were individually housed in disease containment rooms and randomly allotted to one of four treatments with 10 replicate pigs per treatment. The four dietary treatments were: 1) Control: nursery basal diet, 2) Acids: basal diet supplemented with a blend of organic acids (formic acid, lactic acid, and sodium formate) at 0.3%, 3) Monoglycerides: basal diet supplemented with a blend of monoglycerides of fatty acids at 0.3%, and 4) Combination of acids and monoglycerides: basal diet added with the acids blend at 0.2% and the monoglycerides blend at 0.2%. The experiment lasted 28 d [7 d before and 21 d after the first inoculation (d 0)]. All pigs were orally inoculated with E. coli F18 1010 CFU/3 mL for 3 consecutive days from d 0. Growth performance was measured weekly. Diarrhea score (1, normal, to 5, watery diarrhea) was daily recorded for each pig. Fecal samples were collected on d 2, 5, 7, 10, 14, and 21 post-inoculation (PI) to confirm the presence of β-hemolytic coliforms in feces. Whole blood samples were collected on d 0, 5, and 14 PI to perform complete blood counting analysis. All data were analyzed by ANOVA using the PROC MIXED of SAS with a pig as the experimental unit. Frequency of diarrhea was calculated and analyzed by Chi-square test. Supplementation of acids blend, monoglycerides blend, or the combination of both had limited impacts on growth performance throughout the trial but significantly reduced (P &amp;lt; 0.05) frequency of diarrhea (25.5 to 29.8%) compared with control (39.3%). E. coli F18 infection increased (P &amp;lt; 0.05) the counts of total white blood cells, neutrophils, and lymphocytes on d 5 and 14 PI, compared with d 0. Supplementation of the combination of acids and monoglycerides reduced (P &amp;lt; 0.05) the counts of total white blood cells, lymphocytes, and the ratio of neutrophils to lymphocytes, and tended (P &amp;lt; 0.10) to reduce neutrophil count on d 5 PI, compared with control. Pigs fed with 0.3% monoglycerides blend had greater (P &amp;lt; 0.05) neutrophil count than pigs in the control group on d 14 PI. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of organic acids blend, monoglycerides blend, and the combination of both can alleviate diarrhea or systemic inflammation caused by E. coli F18 infection.