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Assessing the infection risk of enteropathogens from consumption of raw vegetables washed with contaminated water in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
Author(s) -
Shrestha S.,
Haramoto E.,
Shindo J.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
journal of applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 1364-5072
DOI - 10.1111/jam.13573
Subject(s) - cryptosporidium , contamination , cryptosporidium parvum , raw water , toxicology , risk assessment , environmental science , environmental health , biology , environmental engineering , medicine , feces , microbiology and biotechnology , ecology , computer security , computer science
Aims To assess diarrhoeal risks from enteropathogenic Escherichia coli , Giardia and Cryptosporidium from consuming raw spinach, cabbage, carrots and tomatoes in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal. Methods and Results The annual infection risk was quantified using the probabilistic Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment approach, which considered 12 vegetable washing combinations. A new model was used to estimate dose of pathogens per exposure comprising parameters such as pathogen concentration in vegetable wash water before selling and eating, vegetable consumption rate, remaining pathogen ratio after washing, remaining water on vegetables after washing and water treatment removal efficiency. When all washing combinations were considered, high infection risks above the acceptable level of −4 log 10 infection per person per year were obtained, whereas the risk was reduced when other sources excluding river water were used. Assuming use of water treated with ceramic filters by all consumers, a 0–2 log 10 reduction in the estimated risks was obtained, which was insufficient to achieve the required risk level. Conclusion High risk of diarrhoea prevails among raw vegetable consumers in the valley. Significance and Impact of the Study It is needed to protect vegetable washing water sources and establish advanced water treatment methods to achieve the required level of public health risk.