Association between the concentration of protozoa and surrogates in effluents of the slow sand filtration for water treatment

Brazilian Journal of Microbiology

Léo Heller²  Maria Berenice Cardoso Martins Vieira¹  Ludmila Ladeira Alves De Brito¹  Daniella Pedrosa Salvador¹ 

[1] ,Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais Departamento de Engenharia Sanitária e Ambiental Belo Horizonte MG ,Brasil

关键词: Cryptosporidium;    Giardia;    slow sand filtration;    surrogate;    microbiological indicator;    Cryptosporidium;    Giardia;    filtração lenta;    tratamento de água;    indicador microbiológico;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S1517-83822007000200029

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

Currently, a major challenge on producing high-quality drinking water is to monitor pathogens, such as Giardia, Cryptosporidium and enteric viruses. Due to limitations of the analytical methods available to detect pathogens in water, the research of surrogate indicators is an up-to-date subject. In view of these aspects, a pilot scale study was performed to evaluate the association between microbiological and physical indicators and the presence of Giardia spp and Cryptosporidium sp in the effluent of upflow and downflow slow sand filters. The results showed that efficient bacterial removal could indicate suitable protozoa removal. Although coliforms and Escherichia coli do not present the appropriate physiological profile for an "ideal" indicator, they are still good references for drinking water microbiological quality, specifically for slow sand filtration. The results also point out to the need of deeper researches about the use of anaerobic spores as routine indicator. Regarding the control of Cryptosporidium outbreaks, the expectation that a single indicator will satisfy all purposes is unreal. It may be more useful to know the advantages and disadvantages of several indicators, and integrate them appropriately.

【 授权许可】

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