Pathogenic Leptospira and water quality in African cities: A case study of Cotonou, Benin.

Leptospirosis is a waterborne zoonosis (60,000 infections and 1 million deaths annually). Knowledge about the disease in the urban context is surprisingly rare, especially in Africa. Here, we provide the first study of leptospires in waters within an African city. A simple centrifugation-based method was developed to screen waterborne leptospires from remote or poorly areas. Major ions, trace elements, stable isotopes and pathogenic Leptospira were then seasonally investigated in 193 water samples from three neighborhoods of Cotonou (Benin) with different socio-environmental and hydrographic characteristics. Firstly, no leptospire was detected in tap waters. Secondly, although surface contamination cannot be excluded, one groundwater well was found leptospire positive. Thirdly, pathogenic Leptospira mainly contaminated surface waters of temporary and permanent ponds (9.5% and 27.3% of total prevalence, respectively). Isotopic signatures suggest that leptospires occurred in pond waters formed at the beginning of the rainy season following low to moderate rainfall events. Nevertheless, Leptospira-containing waters possess physico-chemical characteristics that are similar to the spectrum of waters sampled throughout the three sites, thus suggesting that Cotonou waters are widely compatible with Leptospira survival. The frequent contact with water exposes Cotonou inhabitants to the risk of leptospirosis which deserves more attention from public health authorities.

The individual response of saline lakes to a severe drought.

A severe protracted drought between 1997 and 2009 has altered the physical and chemical hydrology of a series of lakes in the Corangamite Basin of southeast Australia. Leading up to the drying out of most lakes (many for the first time on record), we document the changes in lakes' water quantity (water levels and inundation), salinity (Cl concentrations), salinity processes (Cl/Br ratios), nutrient concentrations and ratios (ammonia, phosphate and NOx (nitrate and nitrite)) and algae (as chlorophyll-a) for six lakes. All lakes show record declines in inundated areas and increases in salinity from pre-drought (<1997) to drought conditions. However, the magnitude of change in salinity varies for different lakes, and there is no systematic change in the controls on lake salinity processes. Four lakes show no change in salinity processes, one lake shows the beginnings of change; where halite dissolution reactions increased closer to the time of the lake drying up, and another lake shows a marked shift from predominantly evaporation to the cyclic dissolution and precipitation of halite. Changes in filterable reactive phosphorus (FRP) values and lake N and P limitation predictions also showed little systematic correlation with changes in lake salinity, and nutrient values varied between lakes and over time. The decline in NO(x) concentrations in lakes where electrical conductivity (EC) values were above 100 mS/cm indicates some correlation with changes in salinity. Largely, these lakes exhibit individual changes in water quality parameters and salinity processes in response to the drought, indicating that while the stress of drought is regional, the hydrochemical response is local. In future changing climates, these results suggest that the catchment adaption strategies will require comprehensive plans for individual lake systems.