Estimating the Risk of Acute Gastrointestinal Disease Attributed to E. coli O157:H7 in Irrigation Water and Agricultural Soil: A Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment

• Published in: Sustainability Vol. 14; no. 3; p. 1878
• Main Authors: Iwu, Chidozie Declan, Iwu-Jaja, Chinwe Juliana, Okoh, Anthony Ifeanyin, Otim, Michael Ekubu, Al Marzouqi, Amina M.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.02.2022
• Subjects: Agricultural land; Agricultural production; Diarrhea; E coli; Exposure; Food contamination & poisoning; Gastrointestinal diseases; Health risks; Infections; Irrigation; Irrigation water; Laboratories; Microorganisms; Pathogens; Population; Public health; Risk assessment; Soil contamination; Soil water; Soils; Sustainability; Virulence; Water pollution; Eastern Cape South Africa; South Africa; Johannesburg South Africa
• ISSN: 2071-1050; 2071-1050
• DOI: 10.3390/su14031878

Introduction: The occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 in the agricultural environment poses a serious threat to public health. The primary aim was to estimate the probability of illness caused by E. coli O157:H7 in irrigation water and agricultural soil niches. Methods: The Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment was used and the risks were characterized using the Monte Carlo simulation with 10,000 iterations. Results: The mean levels of E. coli O157:H7 in the irrigation water and agricultural soil samples was 1.328 × 103 CFU/100 mL (Range: 0.00 to 13.000 × 103 CFU/100 mL) and 2.482 × 103 CFU/g (Range: 0.167 × 103 to 16.333 × 103 CFU/g), respectively. The risk of infection in humans exposed to this water and soil was 100%. In addition, a high risk of acute diarrheal disease was estimated at 25.0 × 10−2 for humans exposed to contaminated water and/or soil. Summary: These results exceeded the WHO diarrheal disease risk standard of 1.0 × 10−3. These findings demonstrated a high probability of acute gastrointestinal disease among humans exposed to E. coli O157:H7 in irrigation water and agricultural soil samples collected from the study sites representing a huge public health threat.