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Risk assessment and control of waterborne giardiasis
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Risk assessment and control of waterborne giardiasis

J B Rose, C N Haas and S Regli
American journal of public health (1971), v 81(6), pp 709-713
Jun 1991
PMID: 2029038
url
https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.81.6.709View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Waterborne giardiasis has been increasing in the United States with 95 outbreaks reported over the last 25 years. The Safe Drinking Water Act has mandated control of this pathogen. METHODS: A risk assessment model was developed to estimate risk of infection after exposure to treated waters containing varying levels of Giardia cysts. The model was defined by a dose-response curve developed from human feeding studies for Giardia and assumed 2L of water consumption per day. Data on concentrations and distribution of the organism in source waters were used to assess exposure after varying reductions achieved through treatment. RESULTS: In surveys reporting prevalence and levels of Giardia cyst contamination, average levels of cysts in surface waters ranged from 0.33 to 104/100L; from pristine watersheds (protected from all human activity) 0.6 to 5/100L. Yearly risks were 4.8 x 10(-3) for systems using polluted waters and 1.3 x 10(-4) for pristine waters with a 10(-3) treatment reduction. CONCLUSION: Public Health officials will need to work with the water industry to ensure a risk of less than 1/10,000 for source waters with 0.7 to 70 cysts per 100 liters through treatment achieving reduction of 10(-3) to 10(-5), respectively, of Giardia cysts.

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213 citations in Scopus

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Public, Environmental & Occupational Health
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