A rapid on-site loop-mediated isothermal amplification technology as an early warning system for the detection of Shiga toxin-producing in water.

Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) is an important waterborne pathogen capable of causing serious gastrointestinal infections with potentially fatal complications, including haemolytic-uremic syndrome. All STEC serogroups harbour genes that encode at least one Shiga toxin ( and/or ), which constitute the primary virulence factors of STEC. Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) enables rapid real-time pathogen detection with a high degree of specificity and sensitivity.

An ecological study of the spatiotemporal dynamics and drivers of domestically acquired campylobacteriosis in Ireland, 2011-2018.

In 2021, Campylobacteriosis was the main gastrointestinal disease in the European Union since 2007 according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. In the Republic of Ireland, the incidence of the disease is particularly high with approximately 3,000 cases per annum, raising significant concerns for national health authorities with an expected increase in the number of cases in the light of climate change. The current study sought to assess the spatio-temporal patterns of campylobacteriosis in the Republic of Ireland using 20,391 cases from January 2011 to December 2018.

Fluorescent Dissolved Organic Matter Components as Surrogates for Disinfection Byproduct Formation in Drinking Water: A Critical Review.

Disinfection byproduct (DBP) formation, prediction, and minimization are critical challenges facing the drinking water treatment industry worldwide where chemical disinfection is required to inactivate pathogenic microorganisms. Fluorescence excitation-emission matrices-parallel factor analysis (EEM-PARAFAC) is used to characterize and quantify fluorescent dissolved organic matter (FDOM) components in aquatic systems and may offer considerable promise as a low-cost optical surrogate for DBP formation in treated drinking waters. However, the global utility of this approach for quantification and prediction of specific DBP classes or species has not been widely explored to date.

Assessing antimicrobial and metal resistance genes in Escherichia coli from domestic groundwater supplies in rural Ireland.

Natural ecosystems can become significant reservoirs and/or pathways for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) dissemination, with the potential to affect nearby microbiological, animal, and ultimately human communities. This is further accentuated in environments that provide direct human exposure, such as drinking water. To date, however, few studies have investigated AMR dissemination potential and the presence of co-selective stressors (e.

Characterization of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli presence, serogroups and risk factors from private groundwater sources in western Ireland.

Over recent years, Ireland has reported the highest crude incidence rates of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) enteritis in Europe. Unregulated private groundwater sources have emerged as an important potential transmission route for STEC, with up to 750,000 Irish residents reliant on these sources for domestic waters. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and serogroup profile of STEC contamination from domestic private wells in western Ireland.

The antimicrobial resistance profiles of Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolated from private groundwater wells in the Republic of Ireland.

The role of the natural environment in the dissemination of antimicrobial resistant bacteria has been increasingly recognised in the literature. However, knowledge surrounding the critical factors and mechanisms mediating their occurrence is still limited, particularly in relatively 'pristine' groundwater environments. In the Republic of Ireland (RoI), a country characterised by high groundwater reliance, household-based (unregulated) wells provide drinking water to 11% of the population.

Behavioral pathways to private well risk mitigation: A structural equation modeling approach.

Complex, multihazard risks such as private groundwater contamination necessitate multiannual risk reduction actions including seasonal, weather-based hazard evaluations. In the Republic of Ireland (ROI), high rural reliance on unregulated private wells renders behavior promotion a vital instrument toward safeguarding household health from waterborne infection. However, to date, pathways between behavioral predictors remain unknown while latent constructs such as extreme weather event (EWE) risk perception and self-efficacy (perceived behavioral competency) have yet to be sufficiently explored.

Spatiotemporal dynamics of Escherichia coli presence and magnitude across a national groundwater monitoring network, Republic of Ireland, 2011-2020.

Groundwater is a vital drinking water resource and its protection from microbiological contamination is paramount to safeguard public health. The Republic of Ireland (RoI) is characterised by the highest incidence of verocytotoxigenic Escherichia coli (VTEC) enteritis in the European Union (EU), linked to high reliance on unregulated groundwater sources (~16% of the population). Yet, the spatio-temporal factors influencing the frequency and magnitude of microbial contamination remain largely unknown, with past studies typically constrained to spatio-temporally 'limited' sampling campaigns.

Spatiotemporal Dynamics of Sporadic Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli Enteritis, Ireland, 2013-2017.

The Republic of Ireland regularly reports the highest annual crude incidence rates of Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) enteritis in the European Union, ≈10 times the average. We investigated spatiotemporal patterns of STEC enteritis in Ireland using multiple statistical tools. Overall, we georeferenced 2,755 cases of infection during January 2013-December 2017; we found >1 case notified in 2,340 (12.

Breakpoint modelling of temporal associations between non-pharmaceutical interventions and symptomatic COVID-19 incidence in the Republic of Ireland.

Background: To constrain propagation and mitigate the burden of COVID-19, most countries initiated and continue to implement several non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), including national and regional lockdowns. In the Republic of Ireland, the first national lockdown was decreed on 23rd of March 2020, followed by a succession of restriction increases and decreases (phases) over the following year. To date, the effects of these interventions remain unclear, and particularly within differing population subsets.

Geocoding cryptosporidiosis cases in Ireland (2008-2017)-development of a reliable, reproducible, multiphase geocoding methodology.

Background: Geocoding (the process of converting a text address into spatial data) quality may affect geospatial epidemiological study findings. No national standards for best geocoding practice exist in Ireland. Irish postcodes (Eircodes) are not routinely recorded for infectious disease notifications and > 35% of dwellings have non-unique addresses.

Planning for the health impacts of climate change: Flooding, private groundwater contamination and waterborne infection - A cross-sectional study of risk perception, experience and behaviours in the Republic of Ireland.

The frequency and severity of flooding events will increase over the coming decades due to global climate change. While close attention has typically been paid to infrastructural and environmental outcomes of flood events, the potential adverse human health consequences associated with post-event consumption from private groundwater sources have received minimal attention, leading to a poor understanding of private well users' preparedness and the drivers of positive behavioural adoption. The current study sought to quantify the capacity of private well users to cope with flood-triggered contamination risks and identify the social psychological determinants of proactive attitudes in the Republic of Ireland, using a cross-sectional questionnaire incorporating two distinct models of health behaviour, the Health Belief Model and Risk-Attitude-Norms-Ability-Self Regulation model.

Gender-Related Differences in Flood Risk Perception and Behaviours among Private Groundwater Users in the Republic of Ireland.

Extreme weather events including flooding can have severe personal, infrastructural, and economic consequences, with recent evidence pointing to surface flooding as a pathway for the microbial contamination of private groundwater supplies. There is a pressing need for increasingly focused information and awareness campaigns to highlight the risks posed by extreme weather events and appropriate subsequent post-event actions. To date, little is known about the presence, directionality or magnitude of gender-related differences regarding flood risk awareness and behaviour among private groundwater users, a particularly susceptible sub-population due to an overarching paucity of infrastructural regulation across many regions.

Groundwater resources as a global reservoir for antimicrobial-resistant bacteria.

Antimicrobial resistance represents one of our most significant global health threats, with increasing incidences noted in both clinical and environmental settings. As such, identifying and understanding the sources and pathways for antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) is critical. The current study presents the first systematic review and pooled analysis of ARB occurrence in global groundwater supplies, which are used as primary drinking water sources by 2.

Development of a hierarchical model for predicting microbiological contamination of private groundwater supplies in a geologically heterogeneous region.

Private groundwater sources in the Republic of Ireland provide drinking water to an estimated 750,000 people or 16% of the national population. Consumers of untreated groundwater are at increased risk of infection from pathogenic microorganisms. However, given the volume of private wells in operation, remediation or even quantification of public risk is both costly and time consuming.

Wood waste decomposition in landfills: An assessment of current knowledge and implications for emissions reporting.

Large quantities of wood products have historically been disposed of in landfills. The fate of this vast pool of carbon plays an important role in national carbon balances and accurate emission reporting. The Republic of Ireland, like many EU countries, utilises the 2006 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) guidelines for greenhouse gas reporting in the waste sector, which provides default factors for emissions estimation.

Evaluation of the Complex Nomenclature of the Clinically and Veterinary Significant Pathogen .

encompasses a vast and highly related population of clinically and veterinary significant pathogens. The genus is responsible for an array of diseases such as typhoid fever and salmonellosis (a variety of illnesses including gastroenteritis), which cause public health issues globally. Even with the global recognition of as a significant human and veterinary pathogen, the highly complex and evolving nomenclature system of is problematic for clinicians, veterinarians, and microbiologists to comprehend.

Assessment of the Bacterial Diversity of Aircraft Water: Identification of the Frequent Fliers.

The aim of this study was to determine and identify bacteria inhabiting the supply chain of an airline's drinking water using phenotypic and 16S rDNA sequence-based analysis. Water samples (n = 184) were sourced from long-haul and short-haul aircraft, the airline water source and a water service vehicle. In total, 308 isolates were characterised and their identity determined, which produced 82 identified bacterial species belonging to eight classes: γ-Proteobacteria; β-Proteobacteria; α-Proteobacteria; Bacilli; Actinobacteria; Flavobacteria; Sphingobacteria and Cytophaga.

The impact of meteorology on the occurrence of waterborne outbreaks of vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC): a logistic regression approach.

This study analyses the relationship between meteorological phenomena and outbreaks of waterborne-transmitted vero cytotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC) in the Republic of Ireland over an 8-year period (2005-2012). Data pertaining to the notification of waterborne VTEC outbreaks were extracted from the Computerised Infectious Disease Reporting system, which is administered through the national Health Protection Surveillance Centre as part of the Health Service Executive. Rainfall and temperature data were obtained from the national meteorological office and categorised as cumulative rainfall, heavy rainfall events in the previous 7 days, and mean temperature.

Bacteria that Travel: The Quality of Aircraft Water.

The travelling population is increasing globally year on year. International tourist arrival figures reached 1087 million in 2013 and 1133 million in 2014; of which 53% and 54% respectively accounted for air transport. The water on board aircraft is sourced from surface or ground water; piped to a central filling point and distributed to each aircraft by water service vehicles at the home base or at the destination airport.

Microbiological assessment of private groundwater-derived potable water supplies in the Mid-West Region of Ireland.

Determining the likelihood that groundwater contains faecal coliforms can aid water resource management in facilitating the protection of drinking water supplies. This study assesses the incidence of the faecal indicator organism Escherichia coli in 125 private water supplies (PWSs) serving individual houses in the Mid-West Region of Ireland. Two factors, aquifer type and rainfall (mm), were chosen as independent variables that can affect the vulnerability of a groundwater body.