Monitoring of Waterborne Parasites in Two Drinking Water Treatment Plants: A Study in Sarawak, Malaysia

Reena Leeba Richard, Init Ithoi, Mohamad Azlan Abd Majid, Wan Yusoff Wan Sulaiman, Tian Chye Tan, Veeranoot Nissapatorn and Yvonne Ai Lian Lim
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Reena Leeba Richard: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Init Ithoi: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Mohamad Azlan Abd Majid: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Wan Yusoff Wan Sulaiman: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Tian Chye Tan: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Veeranoot Nissapatorn: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Yvonne Ai Lian Lim: Department of Parasitology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia

IJERPH, 2016, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-21

Abstract: The occurrence of waterborne parasites coupled with water parameters at various processing sites of two drinking water treatment plants (A and B) and seven distribution system (DS) sites in Sarawak, Malaysia were studied. Ten liters of water underwent immunomagnetic separation (IMS) technique to detect the presence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium (oo)cysts. The remaining supernatant was used to detect other parasites whilst 50 mL of water sample was each used in the detection of free-living amoebae and fecal coliforms. Sampled water was positive for Giardia (32.9%; 28/85), Cryptosporidium (18.8%; 16/85) followed by Spirometra ova-like (25.9%; 22/85), Blastocystis -like (25.9%; 22/85), nematode larvae-like (8.2%; 7/85) and Taenia ova-like (1.2%; 1/85). Meanwhile, 90.2% (55/61) samples were positive for Acanthamoeba and Naegleria via cultivation and of these, 11 isolates were confirmed as Acanthamoeba genotype T3 (5/7) and T4 (2/7) followed by Naegleria sp. (4/11), Naegleria italica (2/11), Naegleria australiensis (1/11), Naegleria angularis (1/11) and Vahlkampfia sp. (3/11). Cryptosporidium , Acanthamoeba and Naegleria were also detected in one of the seven tested DS sites. Only Giardia and Cryptosporidium showed significant correlations with fluoride and fecal coliforms. These results describe the occurrence of waterborne parasites that will assist key stakeholders in mitigating contamination at the specific sites.

Keywords: waterborne parasites; water parameters; drinking water treatment plants; processing sites; Malaysia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2016
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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