Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Surface Water: A Case Study from Michigan, USA to Inform Management of Rural Water Systems

Erin A. Dreelin, Rebecca L. Ives, Stephanie Molloy and Joan B. Rose
Additional contact information
Erin A. Dreelin: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife and Center for Water Sciences, Michigan State University, 301 Manly Miles Building, 1405 S. Harrison Road, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA
Rebecca L. Ives: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA
Stephanie Molloy: Environmental Services Department, City of San Jose, 200 E. Santa Clara St. 10th Floor, San Jose, CA 95113, USA
Joan B. Rose: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, 480 Wilson Road, East Lansing, MI 48823, USA

IJERPH, 2014, vol. 11, issue 10, 1-24

Abstract: Cryptosporidium and Giardia pose a threat to human health in rural environments where water supplies are commonly untreated and susceptible to contamination from agricultural animal waste/manure, animal wastewater, septic tank effluents and septage. Our goals for this paper are to: (1) explore the prevalence of these protozoan parasites, where they are found, in what quantities, and which genotypes are present; (2) examine relationships between disease and land use comparing human health risks between rural and urban environments; and (3) synthesize available information to gain a better understanding of risk and risk management for rural water supplies. Our results indicate that Cryptosporidium and Giardia were more prevalent in rural versus urban environments based on the number of positive samples. Genotyping showed that both the human and animal types of the parasites are found in rural and urban environments. Rural areas had a higher incidence of disease compared to urban areas based on the total number of disease cases. Cryptosporidiosis and giardiasis were both positively correlated ( p < 0.001) with urban area, population size, and population density. Finally, a comprehensive strategy that creates knowledge pathways for data sharing among multiple levels of management may improve decision-making for protecting rural water supplies.

Keywords: Cryptosporidium; Giardia; genotyping; land use; rural water supply; water management (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2014
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/10/10480/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/11/10/10480/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:11:y:2014:i:10:p:10480-10503:d:41171

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().