Microbial Risk Assessment of Tidal?Induced Urban Flooding in Can Tho City (Mekong Delta, Vietnam)

Hong Quan Nguyen, Thi Thao Nguyen Huynh, Assela Pathirana and Peter Van der Steen
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Hong Quan Nguyen: Center of Water Management and Climate Change (WACC), Vietnam National University—Ho Chi Minh City (VNU—HCM), Ho Chi Minh City 12345, Vietnam
Thi Thao Nguyen Huynh: Center of Water Management and Climate Change (WACC), Vietnam National University—Ho Chi Minh City (VNU—HCM), Ho Chi Minh City 12345, Vietnam
Assela Pathirana: IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands
Peter Van der Steen: IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, 2611 AX Delft, The Netherlands

IJERPH, 2017, vol. 14, issue 12, 1-10

Abstract: Public health risks from urban flooding are a global concern. Contaminated floodwater may expose residents living in cities as they are in direct contact with the water. However, the recent literature does not provide much information about this issue, especially for developing countries. In this paper, the health risk due to a flood event occurred in Can Tho City (Mekong Delta, Vietnam) on 7 October 2013 was investigated. The Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment method was used in this study. The data showed that the pathogen concentrations were highly variable during the flood event and exceeded water standards for surface water. Per 10,000 people in contact with the floodwater, we found Salmonella caused the highest number of infections to adults and children (137 and 374, respectively), while E. coli caused 4 and 12 cases, per single event, respectively. The results show that further investigations on health risk related to flood issues in Can Tho City are required, especially because of climate change and urbanization. In addition, activities to raise awareness- about floods, e.g., “living with floods”, in the Mekong Delta should also consider health risk issues.

Keywords: health risk assessment; quantitative microbial risk assessment; urban flooding; water pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
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