TY - JOUR
T1 - Die-off of E. coli as fecal indicator organism on different surfaces after urban floods
AU - Scoullos, Iosif Marios
AU - Lopez Vazquez, Carlos M.
AU - van de Vossenberg, Jack
AU - Brdjanovic, Damir
PY - 2019
Y1 - 2019
N2 - A better understanding of the effects of different urban and recreational surfaces on the die-off of water-borne pathogens that can cause infections after urban floods if released from surcharged combined sewers and other sources of fecal contamination is needed. The die-off of fecal indicator Escherichia coli was studied under controlled exposure to simulated sunlight on a range of different surfaces found in urban environments: gravel, sand, asphalt, pavement blocks, concrete, playground rubber tiles and grass, using glass as control. The surfaces were inoculated with artificial flooding water containing 105 colony forming units (CFU) of E. coli per mL and sampled periodically using the sterile cotton swab technique, after lowering the water level. The results show that dark inactivation was not statistically significant for any surface, suggesting that chemical composition and pH (varying between 6.5 ± 0.8 and 9.2 ± 0.4) did not affect the die-off rates. The highest light-induced die-off rates for E. coli after the floodwater recession, observed on rubber (>3.46 h−1) and asphalt (2.7 h−1), were attributed to temperature stress and loss of surface moisture.
AB - A better understanding of the effects of different urban and recreational surfaces on the die-off of water-borne pathogens that can cause infections after urban floods if released from surcharged combined sewers and other sources of fecal contamination is needed. The die-off of fecal indicator Escherichia coli was studied under controlled exposure to simulated sunlight on a range of different surfaces found in urban environments: gravel, sand, asphalt, pavement blocks, concrete, playground rubber tiles and grass, using glass as control. The surfaces were inoculated with artificial flooding water containing 105 colony forming units (CFU) of E. coli per mL and sampled periodically using the sterile cotton swab technique, after lowering the water level. The results show that dark inactivation was not statistically significant for any surface, suggesting that chemical composition and pH (varying between 6.5 ± 0.8 and 9.2 ± 0.4) did not affect the die-off rates. The highest light-induced die-off rates for E. coli after the floodwater recession, observed on rubber (>3.46 h−1) and asphalt (2.7 h−1), were attributed to temperature stress and loss of surface moisture.
KW - Solar inactivation
KW - Surfaces
KW - Urban floods
KW - Water-borne diseases
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85071927930&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109516
DO - 10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109516
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85071927930
SN - 0301-4797
VL - 250
JO - Journal of Environmental Management
JF - Journal of Environmental Management
M1 - 109516
ER -