Distribution of host-specific Bacteriodales marker genes in water sources of selected rural areas of Vhembe District, South Africa.

Access to safe drinking water sources and appropriate sanitation facilities remains a dream in low and middle-income countries including South Africa. This study identified the origin of faecal pollution by using quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) targeting host-specific Bacteroidales genetic markers to track the distribution of human-specific (BacHum) and animal-specific (cattle-BacCow, chicken-Cytb, pig-Pig-2-Bac, dog-BacCan) markers in water sources used by rural communities of the Vhembe District Municipality (VDM). Results revealed the prevalence of BacHum, BacCow, and BacCan in all surface water sources in Thulamela Local Municipality (TLM) and Collins Chabane Local Municipality (CLM) during wet (100%) and dry seasons (50-75%).

Indigenous metal-tolerant mine water bacterial populations under varying metal stresses.

The present study investigated the indigenous metal-tolerant bacterial populations in the mine-water microbiome. Our intention was to assess the effects of the metal concentrations in mine water on the bacterial community of mine waters. The bacterial communities in Vanadium and Gold mine-water samples were exposed to different heavy-metal Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Nickel, Mercury and Vanadium at two different concentrations (5 and 25 mM).

Tracking enteric pathogen contamination from on-site sanitation facilities to groundwater in selected rural areas of Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Groundwater is valued as a source of potable water, although it is vulnerable to environmental pollution. The aim of this study was to track enteric pathogen contamination from on-site sanitation (OSS) facilities to 70 household boreholes used by four villages of the Vhembe District Municipality. Two objectives were pursued: to measure the lateral distance between the borehole and the sanitation facilities in household yards, and to track the enteric pathogens.

Assessing the Occurrence of Host-Specific Faecal Indicator Markers in Water Systems as a Function of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene Practices: A Case Study in Rural Communities of Vhembe District Municipality, South Africa.

In settings where humans and animals closely coexist, the introduction of faecal material into unprotected water sources significantly increases the risk of contracting diarrhoeal and zoonotic waterborne diseases. The data were gathered from a survey conducted through interviews at randomly sampled villages; additionally, water samples were collected in randomly selected households and their associated feeder catchments. Molecular techniques were used, specifically qPCR, to run host-specific microbial source tracking (MST) assays for human, cattle, pig, chicken and dog faecal contamination.

Identification of fecal contamination sources of groundwater in rural areas of Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa.

Groundwater is a valuable source of drinking water worldwide, recognized as an improved drinking water source. However, on-site sanitation systems may put groundwater at risk of fecal contamination. In the present study, two approaches were used to ascertain the sources of fecal contamination in groundwater used by communities of the Vhembe District Municipality.

The Fascinating Cross-Paths of Pathogenic Bacteria, Human and Animal Faecal Sources in Water-Stressed Communities of Vhembe District, South Africa.

Access to clean and safe drinking water still remains a major challenge in the developing world, causing public health risks in terms of waterborne infections, especially in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to track and detect enteric pathogens ( subsp. serovar Typhimurium str.

Assessment of the water sources for potential channels of faecal contamination within Vhembe District Municipality using sanitary inspections and hydrogen sulphide test.

Numerous human activities and poor sanitation management cause public health concern, particularly in rural communities without reliable water supply systems and resources for the monitoring of the quality of their water sources. This study assessed the relationship between observed sanitary risks and hydrogen sulphide (HS) strip test results in the identification of faecal contamination of various water sources used at household level in rural areas of the Vhembe District Municipality. The highest percentage sanitary risk scores ranging from 50 to 100% were recorded for both river and dam water commonly used by the households for multiple purposes, including drinking.

Novel bio-catalytic degradation of endocrine disrupting compounds in wastewater.

Against the backdrop of towering ecological health implications of estrogen pollution and the inefficacies associated with cost-intensive treatment techniques, this study recorded the earliest attempt of developing an inexpensive bacterial laccase-based biocatalysts for biodegradation of EDCs (Endocrine disrupting compounds), particularly estrogens. First, a central composite design was used to investigate the interactive effects of pH (6.0-8.

Hormetic effect of 17α-ethynylestradiol on activated sludge microbial community response.

Synthetic estrogen analogues are among the most potent estrogenic contaminants in effluents from wastewater treatment plants. Although its effects have been well elucidated in the feminization of male fish and interference with the endocrine systems in humans, it has not been fully explored in the activated sludge (AS) microbiome, particularly EE2 (17α-ethynylestradiol). Therefore, in this study, the bacterial community shift in a 6-day laboratory-scale reactor in environmental (0, 5, 10, and 100 ng/L) and predictive elevated concentrations (5, 10, and 100 mg/L) of EE2 was investigated using culture-based and metagenomics approaches.

Prevalence and Molecular Characterisation of Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase-Producing Shiga Toxin-Producing , from Cattle Farm to Aquatic Environments.

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing bacteria are a major problem for public health worldwide because of limited treatment options. Currently, only limited information is available on ESBL-producing Shiga toxin-producing (STEC) in cattle farms and the surrounding aquatic environment. This study sought to track and characterise ESBL-producing STEC disseminating from a cattle farm into the water environment.

Enteric Pathogens Risk Factors Associated with Household Drinking Water: A Case Study in Ugu District Kwa-Zulu Natal Province, South Africa.

The occurrence of diarrheal infections depends on the level of water and sanitation services available to households of immunocompromised individuals and children of less than five years old. It is therefore of paramount importance for immunocompromised individuals to be supplied with safe drinking water for better health outcomes. The current study aimed at ascertaining the probability of infection that , , , , and rotavirus might cause to rural dwellers as compared to urban dwellers.

Assessing the Fungal Simultaneous Removal Efficiency of Carbamazepine, Diclofenac and Ibuprofen in Aquatic Environment.

Unused pharmaceutical compounds (PhCs) discharged into the aquatic environment have been regarded as emerging pollutants due to potential harmful effects on humans and the environment. Microbial bioremediation is considered as a viable option for their removal from wastewater. The aim of this study was to assess the simultaneous removal of carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac (DCF) and ibuprofen (IBP) by previously isolated fungi (, , , and ).

Human-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Clonal Complex 80 Isolated from Cattle and Aquatic Environments.

Background: Human-associated methicillin-resistant (HA-MRSA) has mainly been reported in South African pig and chicken farms. The prevalence of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), virulence factors (VFs), and multilocus sequence types (MLSTs) associated with HA-MRSA in cattle farms has not been reported. Consequently, this study characterised LA-MRSA and its spread from cattle farms into the environment.

Comparing the effect of zinc oxide and titanium dioxide nanoparticles on the ability of moderately halophilic bacteria to treat wastewater.

This study evaluates the ability of moderately halophilic bacterial isolates (Serratia sp., Bacillus sp., Morganella sp.

An Integrated Approach to Hygiene, Sanitation, and Storage Practices for Improving Microbial Quality of Drinking Water Treated at Point of Use: A Case Study in Makwane Village, South Africa.

This study assessed the impact of sanitation practices, hygienic and storage conditions on the quality of drinking water treated at point-of-use in Makwane Village. Subsequent to implementation of low-cost Household Water Treatment Devices which are the biosand filter with zeolite-silver (BSZ-SICG) and silver-impregnated porous pot (SIPP) filters in Makwane village, a structured questionnaire was designed to collect the following information: age of caretakers, number of children under the age of five, water storage conditions, sanitation amenities, and hygiene practices. Water quality from the sources to household level was assessed using culture-based and molecular techniques.

Cryptosporidium species and subtypes in river water and riverbed sediment using next-generation sequencing.

This study uncovered the prevalence, harboured species, and subtype diversity of Cryptosporidium species in river water and its sediment from the Apies River in South Africa. Cryptosporidium spp. concentrations in freshwater and its sediment were determined using Ziehl-Neelsen staining and quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) techniques.

Shared Extended-Spectrum β-Lactamase-Producing Serovars between Agricultural and Aquatic Environments Revealed through Amplicon Sequencing.

The presence of antibiotic-resistant spp. in the environment is of great public health interest, worldwide. Furthermore, its extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing strains constitute an emerging global health concern due to their limited treatment options in hospital.

Multilocus-based phylogenetic analysis of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase Escherichia coli O157:H7 uncovers related strains between agriculture and nearby water sources.

This study aimed to uncover related strains of extended-spectrum beta-lactamase Escherichia coli O157:H7 between agricultural matrices (soil, manure and irrigation water) and nearby water sources using multilocus-based phylogenetic analysis. Resistant and nonresistant E. coli O157:H7 were isolated, identified and characterised using standard microbiological methods.

Assessing a co-culture fungal granule ability to remove pharmaceuticals in a sequencing batch reactor.

Biodegradation of carbamazepine (CBZ), diclofenac sodium (DCF) and ibuprofen (IBP) was evaluated through fungal granules development in a sequencing batch reactor (SBR). Fungal granules were developed in co-culture of and at a retention time (RT) of 2 days and 1 day. Ligninolytic enzymes [laccase (Lac), lignin peroxidase (LiP) and manganese peroxidase (MnP)] were determined.

Environmental Dissemination of Selected Antibiotics from Hospital Wastewater to the Aquatic Environment.

The environmental dissemination of selected antibiotics from hospital wastewater into municipal wastewater and lastly to a receiving water body was investigated. Selected antibiotics (azithromycin (AZM), ciprofloxacin (CIP), clindamycin (CDM), doxycycline (DXC) and sulfamethoxazole (SMZ)) present in effluents of academic hospital wastewater, influents, sewage sludge, and effluents of municipal wastewater, receiving water, and its benthic sediment samples were quantified using the Acquity Waters Ultra-Performance Liquid Chromatography System hyphenated with a Waters Synapt G2 coupled to a quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometer. The overall results showed that all assessed antibiotics were found in all matrices.

Environmental resistome risks of wastewaters and aquatic environments deciphered by shotgun metagenomic assembly.

In this paper, we deciphered the core resistome disseminating from hospital wastewater to the aquatic environment by characterising the resistome, plasmidome, mobilome and virulome using metagenomic analysis. This study also elucidated different environmental resistome risks using shotgun-metagenomic assembly. The results showed that clinically relevant taxa were found in assessed matrices (Salmonella spp.

Comparative genomics of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp. revealed common resistome determinants from hospital wastewater to aquatic environments.

The rise of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus spp. (VRE) has led to treatment challenges in hospital settings worldwide. Hospital wastewater (HW) might disseminate this threat to the aquatic environment.

Efficiency of selected wastewater treatment processes in removing estrogen compounds and reducing estrogenic activity using the T47D-KBLUC reporter gene assay.

The occurrence of endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs) consisting of natural and synthetic estrogens, namely estrone (E), 17β-estradiol (E), estriol (E) and 17α-ethinylestradiol (EE) was quantified in wastewater samples. The aim of this study was to assess the removal efficiency for the selected estrogens (E, E, E and EE) and reduction of estrogenic activity in wastewater samples from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) using different processes. Solid-phase extraction (SPE) followed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) methods were used to quantify the selected estrogens in wastewater samples.