TY - JOUR
T1 - Parasitological Assessment of Sewage Sludge Samples for Potential Agricultural Reuse in Tunisia
AU - Sabbahi, Sonia
AU - Ayed, Layla Ben
AU - Trad, Monia
AU - Berndtsson, Ronny
AU - Karanis, Panagiotis
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.
PY - 2022/2/1
Y1 - 2022/2/1
N2 - Wastewater sludge represents an important resource for reuse in agriculture. However, potentially harmful pathogens are a main threat in this context. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the presence of helminth ova and protozoan cysts in dried sewage sludge samples collected from ten wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in eight governorates in Tunisia. Based on morphological criteria, protozoan cysts of Giardia spp., Entamoeba histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii, and Entamoeba coli, were detected in all dried sludge composite samples (N = 116) from the investigated WWTPs. The mean concentration ranged from 1.4 to 10.7 cysts per 100 g dry matter (DM). The identified helminth eggs were Ascaris spp., Strongyles, Taeniid eggs, Hymenolepis nana, Enterobius vermicularis, and hookworm species. Ascaris spp. and Taeniid eggs were detected in 56.9 and 74.1% of analyzed samples, respectively. The presence of Trichuris spp., Hymenolepis diminuta, and Toxo-cara spp. eggs in dried sewage sludge samples was low (0.9, 1.7, and 2.6%, respectively). The mean concentration of helminth eggs during the three-year study was less than 1 egg/100 g DM. All ex-amined dried sewage sludge sample contents were below the WHO (2006) and US EPA (2003) rec-ommendations, and thus, the sludge can potentially be reused in agriculture.
AB - Wastewater sludge represents an important resource for reuse in agriculture. However, potentially harmful pathogens are a main threat in this context. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the presence of helminth ova and protozoan cysts in dried sewage sludge samples collected from ten wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in eight governorates in Tunisia. Based on morphological criteria, protozoan cysts of Giardia spp., Entamoeba histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii, and Entamoeba coli, were detected in all dried sludge composite samples (N = 116) from the investigated WWTPs. The mean concentration ranged from 1.4 to 10.7 cysts per 100 g dry matter (DM). The identified helminth eggs were Ascaris spp., Strongyles, Taeniid eggs, Hymenolepis nana, Enterobius vermicularis, and hookworm species. Ascaris spp. and Taeniid eggs were detected in 56.9 and 74.1% of analyzed samples, respectively. The presence of Trichuris spp., Hymenolepis diminuta, and Toxo-cara spp. eggs in dried sewage sludge samples was low (0.9, 1.7, and 2.6%, respectively). The mean concentration of helminth eggs during the three-year study was less than 1 egg/100 g DM. All ex-amined dried sewage sludge sample contents were below the WHO (2006) and US EPA (2003) rec-ommendations, and thus, the sludge can potentially be reused in agriculture.
KW - Agricultural reuse
KW - Dried sewage sludge
KW - Helminth ova
KW - Protozoan cysts
KW - Semiarid climate
KW - Tunisia
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85123594905
U2 - 10.3390/ijerph19031657
DO - 10.3390/ijerph19031657
M3 - Article
C2 - 35162680
AN - SCOPUS:85123594905
SN - 1661-7827
VL - 19
JO - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
JF - International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
IS - 3
M1 - 1657
ER -
