Risk assessment of banknotes as a fomite of SARS-CoV-2 in cash payment transactions.

The COVID 19 pandemic has triggered concerns and assumptions globally about transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 virus via cash transactions. This paper assesses the risk of contracting COVID-19 through exposure to SARS-CoV-2 via cash acting as a fomite in payment transactions. A quantitative microbial risk assessment was conducted for a scenario assuming an infectious person at the onset of symptoms, when virion concentrations in coughed droplets are at their highest. This person then contaminates a banknote by coughing on it and immediately hands it over to another person, who might then be infected by transferring the virions with a finger from the contaminated banknote to a facial mucous membrane. The scenario considered transfer efficiency of virions on the banknote to fingertips when droplets were still wet and after having dried up and subsequently being touched by finger printing or rubbing the object. Accounting for the likelihood of the scenario to occur by considering (1) a local prevalence of 100 COVID-19 cases/100,000 persons, (2) a maximum of about one-fifth of infected persons transmit high virus loads, and (3) the numbers of cash transactions/person/day, the risk of contracting COVID-19 via person-to-person cash transactions was estimated to be much lower than once per 39,000 days (107 years) for a single person. In the general populace, there will be a maximum of 2.6 expected cases/100,000 persons/day. The risk for a cashier at an average point of sale was estimated to be much less than once per 430 working days (21 months). The depicted scenario is a rare event, therefore, for a single person, the risk of contracting COVID-19 via person-to-person cash transactions is very low. At a point of sale, the risk to the cashier proportionally increases but it is still low.

Model development for evidence-based prioritisation of policy action on emerging chemical and microbial drinking water risks.

While the burden of disease from well-studied drinking water contaminants is declining, risks from emerging chemical and microbial contaminants arise because of social, technological, demographic and climatological developments. At present, emerging chemical and microbial drinking water contaminants are not assessed in a systematic way, but reactively and incidence based. Furthermore, they are assessed separately despite similar pollution sources. As a result, risks might be addressed ineffectively. Integrated risk assessment approaches are thus needed that elucidate the uncertainties in the risk evaluation of emerging drinking water contaminants, while considering risk assessors' values. This study therefore aimed to (1) construct an assessment hierarchy for the integrated evaluation of the potential risks from emerging chemical and microbial contaminants in drinking water and (2) develop a decision support tool, based on the agreed assessment hierarchy, to quantify (uncertain) risk scores. A multi-actor approach was used to construct the assessment hierarchy, involving chemical and microbial risk assessors, drinking water experts and members of responsible authorities. The concept of value-focused thinking was applied to guide the problem-structuring and model-building process. The development of the decision support tool was done using Decisi-o-rama, an open-source Python library. With the developed decision support tool (uncertain) risk scores can be calculated for emerging chemical and microbial drinking water contaminants, which can be used for the evidence-based prioritisation of actions on emerging chemical and microbial drinking water risks. The decision support tool improves existing prioritisation approaches as it combines uncertain indicator levels with a multi-stakeholder approach and integrated the risk assessment of chemical and microbial contaminants. By applying the concept of value-focused thinking, this study addressed difficulties in evidence-based decision-making related to emerging drinking water contaminants. Suggestions to improve the model were made to guide future research in assisting policy makers to effectively protect public health from emerging drinking water risks.

Quantitative Assessment of the Health Risk for Livestock When Animal Viruses Are Applied in Human Oncolytic Therapy: A Case Study for Seneca Valley Virus.

Some viruses cause tumor regression and can be used to treat cancer patients; these viruses are called oncolytic viruses. To assess whether oncolytic viruses from animal origin excreted by patients pose a health risk for livestock, a quantitative risk assessment (QRA) was performed to estimate the risk for the Dutch pig industry after environmental release of Seneca Valley virus (SVV). The QRA assumed SVV excretion in stool by one cancer patient on Day 1 in the Netherlands, discharge of SVV with treated wastewater into the river Meuse, downstream intake of river water for drinking water production, and consumption of this drinking water by pigs. Dose-response curves for SVV infection and clinical disease in pigs were constructed from experimental data. In the worst scenario (four log10 virus reduction by drinking water treatment and a farm with 10,000 pigs), the infection risk is less than 1% with 95% certainty. The risk of clinical disease is almost seven orders of magnitude lower. Risks may increase proportionally with the numbers of treated patients and days of virus excretion. These data indicate that application of wild-type oncolytic animal viruses may infect susceptible livestock. A QRA regarding the use of oncolytic animal virus is, therefore, highly recommended. For this, data on excretion by patients, and dose-response parameters for infection and clinical disease in livestock, should be studied.

QMRAcatch: Human-Associated Fecal Pollution and Infection Risk Modeling for a River/Floodplain Environment.

Protection of drinking water resources requires addressing all relevant fecal pollution sources in the considered catchment. A freely available simulation tool, QMRAcatch, was recently developed to simulate concentrations of fecal indicators, a genetic microbial source tracking (MST) marker, and intestinal pathogens in water resources and to conduct a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA). At the same time, QMRAcatch was successfully applied to a region of the Danube River in Austria, focusing on municipal wastewater emissions. Herein, we describe extension of its application to a Danube River floodplain, keeping the focus on fecal sources of human origin. QMRAcatch was calibrated to match measured human-associated MST marker concentrations for a dry year and a wet year. Appropriate performance characteristics of the human-associated MST assay were proven by simulating correct and false-positive marker concentrations, as determined in human and animal feces. With the calibrated tool, simulated and measured enterovirus concentrations in the rivers were compared. Finally, the calibrated tool allowed demonstrating that 4.5 log enterovirus and 6.6 log norovirus reductions must be achieved to convert current surface water to safe drinking water that complies with a health-based target of 10 infections person yr. Simulations of the low- and high-pollution scenarios showed that the required viral reductions ranged from 0 to 8 log. This study has implications for water managers with interests in assessing robust catchment protection measures and water treatment criteria by considering the fate of fecal pollution from its sources to the point of abstraction.

Risk assessment, risk management and risk-based monitoring following a reported accidental release of poliovirus in Belgium, September to November 2014.

On 6 September 2014, the accidental release of 10(13) infectious wild poliovirus type 3 (WPV3) particles by a vaccine production plant in Belgium was reported. WPV3 was released into the sewage system and discharged directly to a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) and subsequently into rivers that flowed to the Western Scheldt and the North Sea. No poliovirus was detected in samples from the WWTP, surface waters, mussels or sewage from the Netherlands. Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) showed that the infection risks resulting from swimming in Belgium waters were above 50% for several days and that the infection risk by consuming shellfish harvested in the eastern part of the Western Scheldt warranted a shellfish cooking advice. We conclude that the reported release of WPV3 has neither resulted in detectable levels of poliovirus in any of the samples nor in poliovirus circulation in the Netherlands. This QMRA showed that relevant data on water flows were not readily available and that prior assumptions on dilution factors were overestimated. A QMRA should have been performed by all vaccine production facilities before starting up large-scale culture of WPV to be able to implement effective interventions when an accident happens.

Fate of Extended-Spectrum ß-Lactamase-Producing Escherichia coli from Faecal Sources in Surface Water and Probability of Human Exposure through Swimming.

The goal of this study was to determine the fate of ESBL-producing Escherichia coli (ESBL-EC) emitted from faecal sources in surface water, and the probability of human exposure through swimming. Concentrations of ESBL-EC were measured in recreational waters and in source waters, being water in ditches surrounding poultry farms and municipal wastewater. Additionally, the potential of ESBL-EC in source waters to reach recreational waters located downstream of these sources was modeled. Modeled ESBL-EC concentrations in recreational waters appeared to be mostly determined by the concentrations in the source waters and by subsequent dilution in surface water, and less by inactivation. The mean (95%) risk of human exposure to ESBL-EC per person per swimming event, as assessed from measured ESBL-EC concentrations in recreational waters, was 0.16 (0.89) for men, 0.13 (0.72) for women and 0.20 (0.95) for children. Similar exposure risks were estimated for hypothetical recreational waters containing 100- or 1000-times diluted source water, located 10 days water travel time downstream of the sources. Human exposure to ESBL-EC through swimming is likely, if recreational waters are located downstream of poultry farms and municipal wastewater discharge points.

Effect of Climate Change on the Concentration and Associated Risks of Vibrio Spp. in Dutch Recreational Waters.

Currently, the number of reported cases of recreational- water-related Vibrio illness in the Netherlands is low. However, a notable higher incidence of Vibrio infections has been observed in warm summers. In the future, such warm summers are expected to occur more often, resulting in enhanced water temperatures favoring Vibrio growth. Quantitative information on the increase in concentration of Vibrio spp. in recreational water under climate change scenarios is lacking. In this study, data on occurrence of Vibrio spp. at six different bathing sites in the Netherlands (2009-2012) were used to derive an empirical formula to predict the Vibrio concentration as a function of temperature, salinity, and pH. This formula was used to predict the effects of increased temperatures in climate change scenarios on Vibrio concentrations. For Vibrio parahaemolyticus, changes in illness risks associated with the changed concentrations were calculated as well. For an average temperature increase of 3.7 °C, these illness risks were calculated to be two to three times higher than in the current situation. Current illness risks were, varying per location, on average between 10(-4) and 10(-2) per person for an entire summer. In situations where water temperatures reached maximum values, illness risks are estimated to be up to 10(-2) and 10(-1) . If such extreme situations occur more often during future summers, increased numbers of ill bathers or bathing-water-related illness outbreaks may be expected.

Microbial Transport and Fate in the Subsurface Environment: Introduction to the Special Section.

Microorganisms constitute an almost exclusive form of life in the earth's subsurface environment (not including caves), particularly at depths exceeding the soil horizon. While of broad interest to ecology and geology, scientific interest in the fate and transport of microorganisms, particularly those introduced through the anthropogenic environment, has focused on understanding the subsurface environment as a pathway for human pathogens and on optimizing the use of microbial organisms for remediation of potable groundwater. This special section, inspired by the 2014 Ninth International Symposium for Subsurface Microbiology, brings together recent efforts to better understand the spatiotemporal occurrence of anthropogenic microbial groundwater contamination and the fate and transport of microbes in the subsurface environment: in soils, deep unsaturated zones, and within aquifer systems. Work includes field reconnaissance, controlled laboratory studies to improve our understanding of specific fate and transport processes, and the development and application of improved mechanistic understanding of microbial fate and transport processes in the subsurface environment. The findings confirm and also challenge the limitations of our current understanding of highly complex microbial fate and transport processes across spatiotemporal scales in the subsurface environment; they also add to the increasing knowledge base to improve our ability to protect drinking water resources and perform in situ environmental remediation.

QMRAcatch: Microbial Quality Simulation of Water Resources including Infection Risk Assessment.

Given the complex hydrologic dynamics of water catchments and conflicts between nature protection and public water supply, models may help to understand catchment dynamics and evaluate contamination scenarios and may support best environmental practices and water safety management. A catchment model can be an educative tool for investigating water quality and for communication between parties with different interests in the catchment. This article introduces an interactive computational tool, QMRAcatch, that was developed to simulate concentrations in water resources of , a human-associated microbial source tracking (MST) marker, enterovirus, norovirus, , and as target microorganisms and viruses (TMVs). The model domain encompasses a main river with wastewater discharges and a floodplain with a floodplain river. Diffuse agricultural sources of TMVs that discharge into the main river are not included in this stage of development. The floodplain river is fed by the main river and may flood the plain. Discharged TMVs in the river are subject to dilution and temperature-dependent degradation. River travel times are calculated using the Manning-Gauckler-Strickler formula. Fecal deposits from wildlife, birds, and visitors in the floodplain are resuspended in flood water, runoff to the floodplain river, or infiltrate groundwater. Fecal indicator and MST marker data facilitate calibration. Infection risks from exposure to the pathogenic TMVs by swimming or drinking water consumption are calculated, and the required pathogen removal by treatment to meet a health-based quality target can be determined. Applicability of QMRAcatch is demonstrated by calibrating the tool for a study site at the River Danube near Vienna, Austria, using field TMV data, including a sensitivity analysis and evaluation of the model outcomes.

Meta-regression analysis of commensal and pathogenic Escherichia coli survival in soil and water.

The extent to which pathogenic and commensal E. coli (respectively PEC and CEC) can survive, and which factors predominantly determine the rate of decline, are crucial issues from a public health point of view. The goal of this study was to provide a quantitative summary of the variability in E. coli survival in soil and water over a broad range of individual studies and to identify the most important sources of variability. To that end, a meta-regression analysis on available literature data was conducted. The considerable variation in reported decline rates indicated that the persistence of E. coli is not easily predictable. The meta-analysis demonstrated that for soil and water, the type of experiment (laboratory or field), the matrix subtype (type of water and soil), and temperature were the main factors included in the regression analysis. A higher average decline rate in soil of PEC compared with CEC was observed. The regression models explained at best 57% of the variation in decline rate in soil and 41% of the variation in decline rate in water. This indicates that additional factors, not included in the current meta-regression analysis, are of importance but rarely reported. More complete reporting of experimental conditions may allow future inference on the global effects of these variables on the decline rate of E. coli.

Direct and indirect effects of climate change on the risk of infection by water-transmitted pathogens.

Climate change is likely to affect the infectious disease burden from exposure to pathogens in water used for drinking and recreation. Effective intervention measures require quantification of impacts of climate change on the distribution of pathogens in the environment and their potential effects on human health. Objectives of this systematic review were to summarize current knowledge available to estimate how climate change may directly and indirectly affect infection risks due to Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, norovirus, and Vibrio. Secondary objectives were to prioritize natural processes and interactions that are susceptible to climate change and to identify knowledge gaps. Search strategies were determined based on a conceptual model and scenarios with the main emphasis on The Netherlands. The literature search resulted in a large quantity of publications on climate variables affecting pathogen input and behavior in aquatic environments. However, not all processes and pathogens are evenly covered by the literature, and in many cases, the direction of change is still unclear. To make useful predictions of climate change, it is necessary to combine both negative and positive effects. This review provides an overview of the most important effects of climate change on human health and shows the importance of QMRA to quantify the net effects.

Quantitative risk estimation for a Legionella pneumophila infection due to whirlpool use.

Quantitative microbiological risk assessment was used to quantify the risk associated with the exposure to Legionella pneumophila in a whirlpool. Conceptually, air bubbles ascend to the surface, intercepting Legionella from the traversed water. At the surface the bubble bursts into dominantly noninhalable jet drops and inhalable film drops. Assuming that film drops carry half of the intercepted Legionella, a total of four (95% interval: 1-9) and 4.5×10(4) (4.4×10(4) - 4.7×10(4) ) cfu/min were estimated to be aerosolized for concentrations of 1 and 1,000 legionellas per liter, respectively. Using a dose-response model for guinea pigs to represent humans, infection risks for active whirlpool use with 100 cfu/L water for 15 minutes were 0.29 (∼0.11-0.48) for susceptible males and 0.22 (∼0.06-0.42) for susceptible females. A L. pneumophila concentration of ≥1,000 cfu/L water was estimated to nearly always cause an infection (mean: 0.95; 95% interval: 0.9-∼1). Estimated infection risks were time-dependent, ranging from 0.02 (0-0.11) for 1-minute exposures to 0.93 (0.86-0.97) for 2-hour exposures when the L. pneumophila concentration was 100 cfu/L water. Pool water in Dutch bathing establishments should contain <100 cfu Legionella/L water. This study suggests that stricter provisions might be required to assure adequate public health protection.

A decision support tool to compare waterborne and foodborne infection and/or illness risks associated with climate change.

Climate change may impact waterborne and foodborne infectious disease, but to what extent is uncertain. Estimating climate-change-associated relative infection risks from exposure to viruses, bacteria, or parasites in water or food is critical for guiding adaptation measures. We present a computational tool for strategic decision making that describes the behavior of pathogens using location-specific input data under current and projected climate conditions. Pathogen-pathway combinations are available for exposure to norovirus, Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium, and noncholera Vibrio species via drinking water, bathing water, oysters, or chicken fillets. Infection risk outcomes generated by the tool under current climate conditions correspond with those published in the literature. The tool demonstrates that increasing temperatures lead to increasing risks for infection with Campylobacter from consuming raw/undercooked chicken fillet and for Vibrio from water exposure. Increasing frequencies of drought generally lead to an elevated infection risk of exposure to persistent pathogens such as norovirus and Cryptosporidium, but decreasing risk of exposure to rapidly inactivating pathogens, like Campylobacter. The opposite is the case with increasing annual precipitation; an upsurge of heavy rainfall events leads to more peaks in infection risks in all cases. The interdisciplinary tool presented here can be used to guide climate change adaptation strategies focused on infectious diseases.

QMRA of Ralstonia solanacearum in potato cultivation: Risks associated with irrigation water recycled through managed aquifer recharge.

Agricultural aquifer storage recovery and transfer (ASTR) stores excess fresh water for later reuse in irrigation. Moreover, water quality improves because chemical pollutants and pathogens will be removed by degradation and attachment to the aquifer material. The source water may contain the bacterial plant pathogen Ralstonia solanacearum which causes plant infections and high yield losses. We used quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) to investigate the removal of R. solanacearum during ASTR to predict infection risks of potato plants after irrigation with the recovered water. Laboratory experiments analyzed the ASTR treatment by investigating the bacterial die-off in the water phase and the removal by attachment to the aquifer sediment. Die-off in the water phase depends on the residence time and ranged between 1.3 and 2.7 log10 after 10 or 60 days water storage, respectively. A subpopulation of the bacteria persisted for a prolonged time at low concentrations which may pose a risk if the water is recovered too early. However, the natural aquifer sand filtration proofed to be highly effective in removing R. solanacearum by attachment which depends on the distance between injection and abstraction well. The high removal by attachment alone (18 log10 after 1 m) would reduce bacterial concentrations to negligible numbers. Upscaling to longer soil passages is discussed in the paper. Infection risks of potato plants were calculated using a dose-response model and ASTR treatment resulted in negligible infection risks of a single plant, but also when simulating the irrigation of a 5 ha potato field. This is the first QMRA that analyzed an agricultural ASTR and the fate of a plant pathogen focusing on plant health. QMRA is a useful (water) management tool to evaluate the treatment steps of water reclamation technologies with the aim to provide safe irrigation water and reduce risks disseminating plant diseases.

Probabilistic fecal pollution source profiling and microbial source tracking for an urban river catchment.

We developed an innovative approach to estimate the occurrence and extent of fecal pollution sources for urban river catchments. The methodology consists of 1) catchment surveys complemented by literature data where needed for probabilistic estimates of daily produced fecal indicator (FIBs, E. coli, enterococci) and zoonotic reference pathogen numbers (Campylobacter, Cryptosporidium and Giardia) excreted by human and animal sources in a river catchment, 2) generating a hypothesis about the dominant sources of fecal pollution and selecting a source targeted monitoring design, and 3) verifying the results by comparing measured concentrations of the informed choice of parameters (i.e. chemical tracers, C. perfringensspores, and host-associated genetic microbial source tracking (MST) markers) in the river, and by multi-parametric correlation analysis. We tested the approach at a study area in Vienna, Austria. The daily produced microbial particle numbers according to the probabilistic estimates indicated that, for the dry weather scenario, the discharge of treated wastewater (WWTP) was the primary contributor to fecal pollution. For the wet weather scenario, 80-99 % of the daily produced FIBs and pathogens resulted from combined sewer overflows (CSOs) according to the probabilistic estimates. When testing our hypothesis in the river, the measured concentrations of the human genetic fecal marker were log10 4 higher than for selected animal genetic fecal markers. Our analyses showed for the first-time statistical relationships between C. perfringens spores (used as conservative microbial tracer for communal sewage) and a human genetic fecal marker (i.e. HF183/BacR287) with the reference pathogen Giardia in river water (Spearman rank correlation: 0.78-0.83, p < 0.05. The developed approach facilitates urban water safety management and provides a robust basis for microbial fate and transport models and microbial infection risk assessment.

Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment of Contracting COVID-19 Derived from Measured and Simulated Aerosol Particle Transmission in Aircraft Cabins.

BACKGROUND: SARS-CoV-2 can be effectively transmitted between individuals located in close proximity to each other for extended durations. Aircraft provide such conditions. Although high attack rates during flights were reported, little was known about the risk levels of aerosol transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in aircraft cabins. OBJECTIVES: The major objective was to estimate the risk of contracting COVID-19 from transmission of aerosol particles in aircraft cabins. METHODS: In two single-aisle and one twin-aisle aircraft, dispersion of generated aerosol particles over a seven-row economy class cabin section was measured under cruise and taxi conditions and simulated with a computational fluid dynamic model under cruise conditions. Using the aerosol particle dispersion data, a quantitative microbial risk assessment was conducted for scenarios with an asymptomatic infectious person expelling aerosol particles by breathing and speaking. Effects of flight conditions were evaluated using generalized additive mixed models. RESULTS: Aerosol particle concentration decreased with increasing distance from the infectious person, and this decrease varied with direction. On a typical flight with an average shedder, estimated mean risk of contracting COVID-19 ranged from 1.3×10-3 to 9.0×10-2. Risk increased to 7.7×10-2 with a super shedder (<3% of cases) on a long flight. Risks increased with increasing flight duration: 2-23 cruise flights of typical duration and 2-10 flights of longer duration resulted in at least 1 case of COVID-19 due to onboard aerosol transmission by one average shedder, and in the case of one super shedder, at least 1 case in 1-3 flights of typical duration cruise and 1 flight of longer duration. DISCUSSION: Our findings indicate that the risk of contracting COVID-19 by aerosol transmission in an aircraft cabin is low, but it will not be zero. Testing before boarding may help reduce the chance of a (super)shedder boarding an aircraft and mask use further reduces aerosol transmission in the aircraft cabin. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP11495.

Removal of bacterial plant pathogens in columns filled with quartz and natural sediments under anoxic and oxygenated conditions.

Irrigation with surface water carrying plant pathogens poses a risk for agriculture. Managed aquifer recharge enhances fresh water availability while simultaneously it may reduce the risk of plant diseases by removal of pathogens during aquifer passage. We compared the transport of three plant pathogenic bacteria with Escherichia coli WR1 as reference strain in saturated laboratory column experiments filled with quartz sand, or sandy aquifer sediments. E. coli showed the highest removal, followed by Pectobacterium carotovorum, Dickeya solani and Ralstonia solanacearum. Bacterial and non-reactive tracer breakthrough curves were fitted with Hydrus-1D and compared with colloid filtration theory (CFT). Bacterial attachment to fine and medium aquifer sand under anoxic conditions was highest with attachment rates of max. katt1 = 765 day-1 and 355 day-1, respectively. Attachment was the least to quartz sand under oxic conditions (katt1 = 61 day-1). In CFT, sticking efficiencies were higher in aquifer than in quartz sand but there was no differentiation between fine and medium aquifer sand. Overall removal ranged between < 6.8 log10 m-1 in quartz and up to 40 log10 m-1 in fine aquifer sand. Oxygenation of the anoxic aquifer sediments for two weeks with oxic influent water decreased the removal. The results highlight the potential of natural sand filtration to sufficiently remove plant pathogenic bacteria during aquifer storage.

Dose-response relationship of Ralstonia solanacearum and potato in greenhouse and in vitro experiments.

Ralstonia solanacearum is the causative agent of bacterial wilt of potato and other vegetable crops. Contaminated irrigation water contributes to the dissemination of this pathogen but the exact concentration or biological threshold to cause an infection is unknown. In two greenhouse experiments, potted potato plants (Solanum tuberosum) were exposed to a single irrigation with 50 mL water (non-invasive soil-soak inoculation) containing no or 102 - 108 CFU/mL R. solanacearum. The disease response of two cultivars, Kondor and HB, were compared. Disease development was monitored over a three-month period after which stems, roots and tubers of asymptomatic plants were analyzed for latent infections. First wilting symptoms were observed 15 days post inoculation in a plant inoculated with 5x109 CFU and a mean disease index was used to monitor disease development over time. An inoculum of 5x105 CFU per pot (1.3x102 CFU/g soil) was the minimum dose required to cause wilting symptoms, while one latent infection was detected at the lowest dose of 5x102 CFU per pot (0.13 CFU/g). In a second set of experiments, stem-inoculated potato plants grown in vitro were used to investigate the dose-response relationship under optimal conditions for pathogen growth and disease development. Plants were inoculated with doses between 0.5 and 5x105 CFU/plant which resulted in visible symptoms at all doses. The results led to a dose-response model describing the relationship between R. solanacearum exposure and probability of infection or illness of potato plants. Cultivar Kondor was more susceptible to brown-rot infections than HB in greenhouse experiments while there was no significant difference between the dose-response models of both cultivars in in vitro experiments. The ED50 for infection of cv Kondor was 1.1x107 CFU. Results can be used in management strategies aimed to reduce or eliminate the risk of bacterial wilt infection when using treated water in irrigation.

Corrigendum: Genetic microbial source tracking support QMRA modeling for a riverine wetland drinking water resource.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.3389/fmicb.2021.668778.].

Effect of operational strategies on microbial water quality in small scale intermittent water supply systems: The case of Moamba, Mozambique.

Intermittent drinking water supply affects the health of over 300 million people globally. In Mozambique, it is largely practiced in cities and small towns. This results in frequent microbial contamination of the supplied drinking water posing a health risk to consumers. In Moamba, a small town in Southern Mozambique with 2,500 water connections, the impact of changes in operational strategies, namely increased chlorine dosage, increased supply duration and first-flush, on the microbial water quality was studied to determine best practices. To that aim, water quality monitoring was enhanced to provide sufficient data on the microbial contamination from 452 samples under the different strategies. The water at the outlet of the water treatment plant during all strategies was free of E. coli complying to the national standards. However, E. coli could be detected at household level. By increasing the chlorine dosage, the number of samples that showed E. coli absence increased at the two sampling locations in the distribution network: in Cimento from 72% to 83% and in Matadouro from 52% to 86%. Modifying the number and duration of supply cycles showed a different impact on the water quality at both locations in the distribution network. A positive effect was shown in Cimento, where the mean concentrations decreased slightly from 0.54 to 0.23 CFU/100 mL and 16.7 to 7.3 CFU/100 mL for E. coli and total coliforms respectively. The percentage of samples positive for bacteria was, however, similar. In contrast, a negative effect was shown in Matadouro where the percentage of positive samples increased and the mean bacterial concentrations increased slightly: E. coli from 0.9 to 1.5 CFU/100 mL and total coliforms 17.6 to 23.0 CFU/100 mL. Enhanced water quality monitoring improved operational strategies safeguarding the microbial water quality. The E. coli contamination of the drinking water at household level could point at recontamination in the distribution or unsafe hygienic practices at household level. Presence of faecal contamination at household level indicates potential presence of pathogens posing a health risk to consumers. Increasing chlorine dosage ensured good microbiological drinking water quality but changing the number of supply cycles had no such effect.