Human Waste Research Articles

Microbial Risk Assessment of Mature Compost from Human Excreta, Cattle Manure, Organic Waste, and Biochar

Lack of sanitation is the underlying cause of many diarrheal infections and associated deaths. Improving sanitation through the set-up of ecological sanitation dry toilets, followed by the thermophilic composting of human excreta, could offer a solution. In addition, treating the excreta via thermophilic composting allows us to recycle the nutrients to be used as fertilizer for agriculture. However, for this purpose, the compost should be free of pathogens. We conducted a thermophilic composting trial over 204 to 256 days with human excreta, along with vegetable scraps and teff straw, with and without biochar. A sawdust–cattle manure mixture with the same supplements served as a control treatment. To evaluate the hygienic quality of the mature compost, the bacterial indicators Escherichia coli and Salmonella were assessed using the cultivation-based most probable number method. In addition, Ascaris lumbricoides eggs were quantified through light microscopy. The amount of detected E. coli was below the thresholds of German and European regulations for organic fertilizer. Salmonella and Ascaris eggs were not detected. No significant differences between the treatments were observed. Thus, the composting process was efficient in decreasing the number of potential human pathogens. The mature compost fulfilled the legal regulations on organic fertilizer regarding potential human pathogens.

Effects of water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions on detection of enteropathogens and host-specific faecal markers in the environment: a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis

Water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) improvements are promoted to reduce diarrhoea in low-income countries. However, trials from the past 5 years have found mixed effects of household-level and community-level WASH interventions on child health. Measuring pathogens and host-specific faecal markers in the environment can help investigate causal pathways between WASH and health by quantifying whether and by how much interventions reduce environmental exposure to enteric pathogens and faecal contamination from human and different animal sources. We aimed to assess the effects of WASH interventions on enteropathogens and microbial source tracking (MST) markers in environmental samples. We did a systematic review and individual participant data meta-analysis, which included searches from Jan 1, 2000, to Jan 5, 2023, from PubMed, Embase, CAB Direct Global Health, Agricultural and Environmental Science Database, Web of Science, and Scopus, of prospective studies with water, sanitation, or hygiene interventions and concurrent control group that measured pathogens or MST markers in environmental samples and measured child anthropometry, diarrhoea, or pathogen-specific infections. We used covariate-adjusted regression models with robust standard errors to estimate study-specific intervention effects and pooled effect estimates across studies using random-effects models. Few trials have measured the effect of sanitation interventions on pathogens and MST markers in the environment and they mostly focused on onsite sanitation. We extracted individual participant data on nine environmental assessments from five eligible trials. Environmental sampling included drinking water, hand rinses, soil, and flies. Interventions were consistently associated with reduced pathogen detection in the environment but effect estimates in most individual studies could not be distinguished from chance. Pooled across studies, we found a small reduction in the prevalence of any pathogen in any sample type (pooled prevalence ratio [PR] 0·94 [95% CI 0·90-0·99]). Interventions had no effect on the prevalence of MST markers from humans (pooled PR 1·00 [95% CI 0·88-1·13]) or animals (pooled PR 1·00 [95% CI 0·97-1·03]). The small effect of these sanitation interventions on pathogen detection and absence of effects on human or animal faecal markers are consistent with the small or null health effects previously reported in these trials. Our findings suggest that the basic sanitation interventions implemented in these studies did not contain human waste and did not adequately reduce exposure to enteropathogens in the environment. Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Development Office.

Lens Free Holographic Imaging for Urinary Tract Infection Screening.

The diagnosis of urinary tract infection (UTI) currently requires precise specimen collection, handling infectious human waste, controlled urine storage, and timely transportation to modern laboratory equipment for analysis. Here we investigate holographic lens free imaging (LFI) to show its promise for enabling automatic urine analysis at the patient bedside. We introduce an LFI system capable of resolving important urine clinical biomarkers such as red blood cells, white blood cells, crystals, and casts in 2 mm thick urine phantoms. This approach is sensitive to the particulate concentrations relevant for detecting several clinical urine abnormalities such as hematuria and pyuria, linearly correlating to ground truth hemacytometer measurements with R 2 = 0.9941 and R 2 = 0.9973, respectively. We show that LFI can estimate E. coli concentrations of 10 3 to 10 5 cells/mL by counting individual cells, and is sensitive to concentrations of 10 5 cells/mL to 10 8 cells/mL by analyzing hologram texture. Further, LFI measurements of blood cell concentrations are relatively insensitive to changes in bacteria concentrations of over seven orders of magnitude. Lastly, LFI reveals clear differences between UTI-positive and UTI-negative urine from human patients. LFI is sensitive to clinically-relevant concentrations of bacteria, blood cells, and other sediment in large urine volumes. Together, these results show promise for LFI as a tool for urine screening, potentially offering early, point-of-care detection of UTI and other pathological processes.

Pathogenic Potential of Composted and Sundried Human Excreta from Eco-toilets in Bangladesh

Background: The concept of eco-toilets in Bangladesh was promoted by an NGO (Practical Action, Bangladesh). The ecotoilets are especially built to collect human excreta for using them as manure on the fields after appropriate treatment for 12 months. Objectives: This study was designed to see the physical properties appropriate for fields and pathogenic potential to ensure the treated human excreta are safe for cultivator’s handling. Methodology: The study was carried out in three phases during 2010 to 2014. A total of 210 composted faecal excreta were examined for physical properties like colour, odour, odour intensity, moisture, bacteriological examination for faecally transmitted potential bacteria and parasitological examination for ova / cysts of faecally - transmitted parasites to recommend whether these composted excreta were suitable for use as manure by the cultivators. Results: Majority of the specimens in all three phases contained remarkable moisture: 22.3-80.0% in all specimens in phase I, a considerable number (16, 53.3%) contained 25% moisture in phase II and high moisture content (66.4%-78.9%) in 6(50.0%) of specimens in phase III. Bacteriological examination revealed no pathogenic organism in any specimen of the phases- although, some specimens in all phases showed growth of non-coliform bacteria. Parasitological examinations in all phases revealed ova/larvae of helminths of Ascaris lumbricoides (AL)/ Trichuris trichiura (TT)/ Strongyloides stercoralis (SS). No cyst or trophozoite of any pathogenic parasite, or oocyst of the cryptosporidium was found. Conclusion: The composted excreta could not be adequately treated by sun-drying as indicated by high moisture content and were found not suitable to use as manure by cultivators in the field. J Monno Med Coll June 2022;8(2): 44-47

Biochar prepared from human feces (HFBC) as a promoter in biohydrogen production using simulated feces as substrate

Human feces contain a lot of nutrients and organic matter, which can be used in many fields. In this study, biochar (HFBC) was prepared at 300, 500 and 800 °C using human feces as substrate, and the characteristics of HFBC prepared at different pyrolysis temperatures were investigated. It was confirmed that HFBC prepared at 800 ℃ (HFBC-800) had a better pH buffer capacity, more proportion of π-π shake-up satellites, better graphitization degree and higher conductivity, which could promote the efficiency of biohydrogen production of bacteria. Furthermore, the biohydrogen production of Thermoanaerobacterium thermosaccharolyticum M18 using different concentrations of simulated human feces (SHF) was further investigated. The best biohydrogen production was found for 40 wt%-SHF, with 128.54 mmol H2/L produced in 180 h. The highest biohydrogen production of 148.75 mmol H2/L was obtained by adding 6 g/L HFBC-800 to the biohydrogen production process. This study provides a feasibility for high-performance hydrogen production from human feces and presents an insight into the resource utilization of human waste.

Integrating Input/Output Analysis and Green Technological Innovation to Enhance Sustainable Performance in Economic Units

The research aimed to improve the level of sustainable performance in the economic units, especially the industrial ones. This is done by studying and analyzing the theoretical foundations and knowledge foundations for each of the input / output analysis and green technological innovation and evaluating the level of application of the Iraqi industrial economic units for them by choosing the Al-Zawraa General Company in Baghdad as a place for research. That company is one of the subsidiaries of the Iraqi Ministry of Industry and Minerals. An applied study was conducted on the company for the period (2020-2021). The extent of its use of green technology in its production and operational processes was evaluated by relying on sustainable performance indicators. The efficiency of natural and human resources, waste, air emissions, and water pollution were analyzed and diagnosed for solar photovoltaic energy systems, cost accounting by (IOA), and fault handling and sustainable performance improvement by (GTI). The research reached a set of conclusions, the most important of which was the suffering of the company under study from the lack of central government support for it and the failure to provide sufficient financial allocations for the application of green technology innovations. There are also no current or future visions for dealing with the waste and emissions caused by solar energy systems after the end of their lifespan. The application of (IOA) and (CTI) enables the economic unit in question to achieve many sustainable advantages, including: saving natural resources and improving the efficiency of their use, reducing costs, increasing market share and maximizing its profits, providing environmentally friendly products and services of high quality and efficiency, creating A supportive environment for creative ideas, supporting the process of sustainable decision-making, enhancing sustainable competitive advantages, contributing to preparing sustainable reports by diagnosing environmental, creative and other sustainable costs, and then improving its level of sustainable performance.

Strategies for safe management of hospital wastewater during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13762-023-04803-1.

Hydrothermal carbonization reaction severity as an indicator of human-excreta-derived hydrochar properties and it's combustion

Hydrothermal carbonization (HTC) is an emerging technology that may potentially address sanitation problems and energy scarcity. However, the significance of the parameters that govern HTC (e.g., temperature and time) is not fully understood, in particular for human excreta. A simplified coalification model was used to describe the ‘strength’ of thermal reactions by combining temperature and time into a single parameter, the severity factor. This study is the first to assess the extent to which a severity coalification model can predict the properties of human-excreta-derived hydrochar for a given severity with different combinations of reaction time and temperature. HTC experiments with raw human excreta were undertaken with 50 mL batch reactors at five different severities. Severity was established with different combinations of temperature (180 °C, 210 °C, and 240 °C) and reaction time based on the severity-factor equation. The resulting hydrochars were tested for combustion properties, and the respective gas emission as well as, physicochemical and surface area parameters. Significant correlations were found between severity and yield (R2 = 0.88), carbon content (R2 = 0.85), and calorific value (R2 = 0.90), with the properties being similar for a given severity but varying with different severities. Hydrochar's contact angle increased from 53.1° to 81.3° with increasing SF, while surface area remained low, ranging from <1 to 5.1 m2g-1, with no definite correlation to SF. Combustion profiles for a given severity were generally similar, but the ignition, peak, and burnout temperatures differed between severities. Gram–Schmidt curves indicated that gas emission profiles are similar for a given severity but vary with different severities. The main gases emitted in combustion were virtually identical in all treatments, and included CO2, alkenes (C9, C10), CH4, and H2O. It is concluded that many properties of hydrochar can be inferred from the severity factor.

Biogas: An Alternative Energy Source for Domestic and Small-Scale Industrial Use in Nigeria

In Nigeria today, there is a lot of waste that is being generated on a daily basis. From Domestic wastes to kitchen wastes, poultry and livestock not excluded. Due to the current energy crisis and climate change, the country could benefit greatly from an alternative energy source which is eco-friendly, renewable, sustainable and efficient. This alternative energy source is called ‘’Biogas”. Biogas is formed by anaerobic digestion of organic materials. Biogas can be produced from kitchen wastes, cow dungs, poultry, pig faeces, etc. These wastes from the Bio-digester can later be treated as a by-product to give a nutrient rich organic fertilizer that can be used in farmlands and gardens. This paper outlines the benefits of organic waste and its potentials for domestic as well as industrial use when compared to other conventional fuels. The selected organic wastes that were thoroughly analyzed in this research work are; Human excreta, Pig excreta, sheep and goat excreta, abattoir waste, poultry excreta, cattle excreta, crop residue and municipal waste. Using computational techniques based on standard measurement. It was deduced that Nigeria generates about 591 million tons of the selected organic waste per annum. The results obtained from the research work shows that biogas has the potential of yielding about 32.29 billion m3 of biogas equivalent to 178 894 587.6 MWh. This estimated biogas yield will completely displace use of kerosene and coal for domestic cooking hereby reducing the consumption of wood fuel by 70%. The research also gives a recommendation for government and also the NGOs to encourage waste to energy mobilization and support its implementation in rural areas of the country.

Application of black soldier fly larvae in decentralized treatment of faecal sludge from pit latrines in informal settlements in Kampala city

Introduction: Faecal sludge management (FSM) in urban areas of low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) is not properly implemented due to inaccessibility of sanitation facilities and high faecal sludge (FS) emptying costs, amongst others. Unlike in solid waste and fresh human excreta, use of black soldier fly larvae (BSFL) in treatment of FS from pit latrines - which are the most common sanitation facilities in urban areas of LMICs - has not yet been explored. Moreover, the optimal conditions for efficient FS degradation, such as moisture content, feeding rate and larval density are not yet well known. Against this backdrop, the overarching aim of this study was to determine the effectiveness of BSFL in treating FS under different conditions of moisture content, feeding rate and larval density. Also, the quality of residue left after treatment was assessed.Methods: FS samples were collected from lined and unlined pit latrines in Bwaise I parish in Kampala, Uganda and experiments were set up to feed 10-day old larvae.Results and Discussion: The optimum feeding rate, larval density and moisture content were found to be 50 mg/larvae/day, 1.33 larvae/cm2 and 60%, respectively. The reduction efficiency at optimum conditions were 72% and 66% for FS from lined and unlined pit latrines, respectively. It was further noted that BSFL can feed on FS from pit latrines without dewatering it, hence there is no need for a dewatering unit. The properties of the residue left after treatment were within the allowable limit for use as compost except for helminth egg concentration. Thus, in informal urban settlements, BSFL can be applied for effective treatment of FS from pit latrines while generating good quality residue thereby providing an additional value chain in FSM.

SARS-CoV-2 in animals: susceptibility of animal species, risk for animal and public health, monitoring, prevention and control.

The epidemiological situation of SARS-CoV-2 in humans and animals is continually evolving. To date, animal species known to transmit SARS-CoV-2 are American mink, raccoon dog, cat, ferret, hamster, house mouse, Egyptian fruit bat, deer mouse and white-tailed deer. Among farmed animals, American mink have the highest likelihood to become infected from humans or animals and further transmit SARS-CoV-2. In the EU, 44 outbreaks were reported in 2021 in mink farms in seven MSs, while only six in 2022 in two MSs, thus representing a decreasing trend. The introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into mink farms is usually via infected humans; this can be controlled by systematically testing people entering farms and adequate biosecurity. The current most appropriate monitoring approach for mink is the outbreak confirmation based on suspicion, testing dead or clinically sick animals in case of increased mortality or positive farm personnel and the genomic surveillance of virus variants. The genomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 showed mink-specific clusters with a potential to spill back into the human population. Among companion animals, cats, ferrets and hamsters are those at highest risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection, which most likely originates from an infected human, and which has no or very low impact on virus circulation in the human population. Among wild animals (including zoo animals), mostly carnivores, great apes and white-tailed deer have been reported to be naturally infected by SARS-CoV-2. In the EU, no cases of infected wildlife have been reported so far. Proper disposal of human waste is advised to reduce the risks of spill-over of SARS-CoV-2 to wildlife. Furthermore, contact with wildlife, especially if sick or dead, should be minimised. No specific monitoring for wildlife is recommended apart from testing hunter-harvested animals with clinical signs or found-dead. Bats should be monitored as a natural host of many coronaviruses.

Qualitative Risk Assessment of Microbial Indicators in the Lower Reaches of Meenachil River, Kerala, India

Pristine natural freshwater resources being severely contaminated by microbiological pollutants is still a big issue in many parts of the world. In the present study, water samples taken from the upstream, midstream, and downstream reaches of the Meenachil River were analysed for the presence of microbial pollution indicators such as faecal coliforms (FC), faecal streptococci (FS), and Eschericia coli. The E. coli isolates were subjected to antimicrobial susceptibility tests and the multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) indexes were calculated so as to delineate the potential risk posed by infections to humans and animals using the river for routine potable and recreational purposes. E. coli was consistently isolated from all the samples collected from the different zones of the river. Other faecal coliforms such as Klebsiella oxytoca, Citrobacter koseri, Enterobacter, Proteus vulgaricus, and Shigella boydii were also identified. Higher FC/FS ratios were noticed for the midstream and the downstream sites indicating the contamination from high-risk sources such as human and anthropogenic domestic wastes. The MAR index values of E. coli isolates ranged from 0.33 upstream, 0.416 for midstream and 0.583 for the downstream reaches. Given that E. coli is an ideal indicator of faecal pollution, their existence and extended survival of multiple antibiotic resistance natural freshwater pose a potential risk for the consumers. Rapid urbanization and resultant waste drainage in the downstream stretches of the river might have accelerated the deterioration of the water quality up to a certain extent. Furthermore, the riverine system as it flows downstream loses its self-purification capacity due to the loss of natural water drifts. This may be attributed to the periodic shutdown of the salinity barrier, Thanneermukkam Bund in the confluence zone of the river which results in a temporary stagnation of the running waters in the lower stretches.

Declining Soil Nutrient Status Can Constrain Agricultural Productivity and Food Security in Pacific Island Countries: A Country Scale Assessment

Since human settlement approximately 2,000 years ago, Pacific Island nutrient cycles have been increasingly modified. Modern agricultural intensification has resulted in further changes in the island nutrient flows. Country scale agricultural land nutrient (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium) budgeting in Tonga, Fiji, Samoa, Kiribati, and Tuvalu were calculated from FAO country statistic data (1964–2018). Nutrient input data from birds, atmospheric dust, and rainfall and human waste were calculated from literature values. Overall, there are nutrient imbalances in all countries and agricultural lands are exporting nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. The budgeting calculations did not consider nutrient losses via erosion, leaching and run-off or denitrification, and the net nutrient fluxes may well be greater than reported. The use of animal and human waste would help off-set nutrient imbalances, but additional macro- and micro-nutrients would need to be added for balanced plant nutrition and soil carbon sequestration. While increasing fertiliser inputs will improve the nutrient balance and potential primary productivity, trade-offs such as nutrient losses will need to be considered. Improving nutrient budgets would need a farming systems approach, whereby the use of cover crops, crop rotations and legumes would augment the fertiliser applications.

Fate of Horizontal-Gene-Transfer Markers and Beta-Lactamase Genes during Thermophilic Composting of Human Excreta

Thermophilic composting is a suitable treatment for the recycling of organic wastes for agriculture. However, using human excreta as feedstock for composting raises concerns about antibiotic resistances. We analyzed samples from the start and end of a thermophilic composting trial of human excreta, together with green cuttings and straw, with and without biochar. Beta-lactamase genes blaCTX-M, blaIMP, and blaTEM conferring resistance to broad-spectrum beta-lactam antibiotics, as well as horizontal gene transfer marker genes, intI1 and korB, were quantified using qPCR. We found low concentrations of the beta-lactamase genes in all samples, with non-significant mean decreases in blaCTX-M and blaTEM copy numbers and a mean increase in blaIMP copy numbers. The decrease in both intI1 and korB genes from start to end of composting indicated that thermophilic composting can decrease the horizontal spread of resistance genes. Thus, thermophilic composting can be a suitable treatment for the recycling of human excreta.

Recycling fertilizers from human excreta exhibit high nitrogen fertilizer value and result in low uptake of pharmaceutical compounds

Recycling nutrients is essential for closing nutrient loops within a circular economy. Using locally available resources such as human excreta to produce bio-based recycling fertilizers can substitute mineral fertilizers and thereby promote environmentally friendly food production. To better understand the fertilizer potential and nitrogen value of human excreta, three novel and safe recycling products were evaluated in a field experiment. Two nitrified urine fertilizers (NUFs) and one fecal compost were applied alone or in combination, and compared against the commercial organic fertilizer vinasse. In addition, the uptake of pharmaceuticals was assessed for treatments with compost application. White cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata f. alba) was cultivated in plots in three different soil types (sand, loam or silt) treated with the fertilizers according to plant needs and mineral soil nitrogen content. The two NUFs resulted in marketable yields similar to those of vinasse in all soil types. Combining fecal compost with a NUF led to increased marketable yield compared to compost alone. The highest yield was recorded from the sandy soil, where vinasse and NUF treatments led to comparable yields, as expected in organic productions systems (up to 72 t ha−1). The cabbage yield and total aboveground fresh biomass followed the following trend in all soils: NUFs ∼ vinasse ≥ compost + NUF ≥ compost. Nitrogen uptake in the cabbage heads and total biomass was significantly higher in sand (69.5–144 kg ha−1) than loam (71.4–95.8 kg ha−1). All compost treatments alleviated the effect of soil type and resulted in comparable nitrogen uptake and yield in all soil types. Plant uptake of pharmaceuticals (Carbamazepin) was higher in sand than in loam, and concentration in the edible part was lower than in the outer leaves. In conclusion, NUF alone appears to be a promising successful fertilizer substitute in horticultural food production. The combined application of NUF and compost led to slightly lower crop yields, but may increase soil carbon content in the long term, promoting climate-friendly food production.

Arsenic enrichment in the north Gangetic Plains of Laksar, Uttarakhand, India

This study reports new data on arsenic contamination in groundwater in Laksar, a pristine and semi-rural region of India's Himalayan state of Uttarakhand. Based on a systematic investigation of hydrogeochemical parameters influencing arsenic mobilisation, the most plausible mechanism of arsenic release into groundwater has been proposed. The groundwater in the research area is mostly homogeneous, with the Ca–Mg–HCO3 facies accounting for 87.5 percent of groundwater samples. The combined effect of silicate weathering, and the dissolution of carbonate minerals predominantly influence Laksar groundwater composition, as evident from bivariate plots of Mg/Na vs. Ca/Na and HCO3−/Na vs. Ca/Na. The statistical analysis (PCA and correlation analysis) performed on the geochemical data indicates that natural processes such as carbonate weathering, reductive dissolution of Fe/Mn minerals together with anthropogenic activities such as the utilization of fertilizers in agricultural fields, human and animal waste disposal, exert control on the major ion chemistry, and As enrichment in groundwater. The study area has extremely high arsenic concentrations, ranging from 0.60 to 91.21 μg/L (mean: 15.63 μg/L), with majority of groundwater samples (>50%) having arsenic contents exceeding the WHO permitted limit (10 μg/L). Analysis of the Eh-pH diagram shows that As(III) species (H3AsO3) accounts for 79% of samples, whereas As (V) species (HAsO4−) accounts for the remaining. The observed arsenic enrichment in groundwater can be attributed to As desorption from iron oxide/hydroxide minerals via reductive dissolution mechanism under reducing groundwater conditions, which is supported by negative Eh values and high levels of Fe and comparatively low levels of sulphate and nitrate.

Recycling fertilizers from human excreta exhibit high nitrogen fertilizer value and result in low uptake of pharmaceutical compounds

Recycling fertilizers from human excreta exhibit high nitrogen fertilizer value and result in low uptake of pharmaceutical compounds

Evolution and implementation of One Health to control the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and resistance genes: A review.

Antibiotic resistance is a serious threat to humanity and its environment. Aberrant usage of antibiotics in the human, animal, and environmental sectors, as well as the dissemination of resistant bacteria and resistance genes among these sectors and globally, are all contributing factors. In humans, antibiotics are generally used to treat infections and prevent illnesses. Antibiotic usage in food-producing animals has lately emerged as a major public health concern. These medicines are currently being utilized to prevent and treat infectious diseases and also for its growth-promoting qualities. These methods have resulted in the induction and spread of antibiotic resistant infections from animals to humans. Antibiotics can be introduced into the environment from a variety of sources, including human wastes, veterinary wastes, and livestock husbandry waste. The soil has been recognized as a reservoir of ABR genes, not only because of the presence of a wide and varied range of bacteria capable of producing natural antibiotics but also for the usage of natural manure on crop fields, which may contain ABR genes or antibiotics. Fears about the human health hazards of ABR related to environmental antibiotic residues include the possible threat of modifying the human microbiota and promoting the rise and selection of resistant bacteria, and the possible danger of generating a selection pressure on the environmental microflora resulting in environmental antibiotic resistance. Because of the connectivity of these sectors, antibiotic use, antibiotic residue persistence, and the existence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in human-animal-environment habitats are all linked to the One Health triangle. The pillars of support including rigorous ABR surveillance among different sectors individually and in combination, and at national and international level, overcoming laboratory resource challenges, and core plan and action execution should be strictly implemented to combat and contain ABR under one health approach. Implementing One Health could help to avoid the emergence and dissemination of antibiotic resistance while also promoting a healthier One World. This review aims to emphasize antibiotic resistance and its regulatory approaches from the perspective of One Health by highlighting the interconnectedness and multi-sectoral nature of the human, animal, and environmental health or ill-health facets.

Could the bioloo revolutionise sanitation?

Pushing for a revolution in sanitation systems, Sanjay Banka looks at his innovation - the ‘Banka bioloo’, an independent, onsite device that turns human waste into reusable water. The bioloos are affordable onsite sanitation systems from India.

Air temperature spikes increase bacteria presence in drinking water wells downstream of hog lagoons

>44 million United States residents depend on private drinking water wells that are federally unregulated. Maintaining a clean groundwater supply for populations without access to public water systems is essential to supporting public health and falls to state regulators and private well owners. Yet, monitoring practices do not reflect the fact that groundwater pollution risk varies seasonally and with proximity to nearby surface-contaminated sites. Examination of nearly 50,000 well water samples across North Carolina, ranked second nationally in domestic well dependence and swine production, from 2013 to 2018 reveals a uniform sampling schedule but a variable risk of bacterial contamination within each calendar year. We document a threshold of 32.2 °C (90 °F) where total coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli (E. coli) detection in private well water spikes near swine lagoons but is absent from “upstream” wells and otherwise unexplained by a variety of other known contamination sites. Closing the gap between perceived and actual risks of drinking water contamination has potential to improve public health. State regulations and federal guidelines should consider coordinating domestic well sampling with seasonally and spatially fluctuating risks of groundwater contamination. Findings from this study are generalizable, having implications for other parts of the world with water sources that have the potential to get contaminated by nearby surface sources of human and animal waste, such as manure applications and leaching septic systems.