Can it help to evaluate the beneficial health effect of improvements in water treatment?
Presenters: Andrey Egorov (NCEA), Tim Wade (NHEERL), Shay Fout (NERL) Contributors: Shannon Hunt (NCEA), Kevin Reilly (Region 1) Science Questions: • Is salivary antibody a feasible and cost-effective bioindicator of incident infections in longitudinal studies of waterborne infections? • Can linkages be made between risk mitigation actions that bring drinking water treatment plants into compliance with drinking water regulations and reduction in the incidence of endemic waterborne infections? • Is there a reduction in the incidence of selected common waterborne infections in a selected community following a regulatory-driven improvement in treatment of water derived from a microbiologically challenged river? The Research: Waterborne infections can be caused by a variety of viral, bacterial and protozoan pathogens. The protozoan parasite Cryptosporidium is of major concern for water utilities which use unprotected surface water sources due to its extreme resistance to chlorination. Ente
