Publications by authors named "Rico Duncan"
Reduced availability of agricultural water has spurred increased interest in using recycled irrigation water for U.S. food crop production.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIrrigation water sources have been shown to harbor foodborne pathogens and could contribute to the outbreak of foodborne illness related to consumption of contaminated produce. Determining the probability of and the degree to which these irrigation water sources contain these pathogens is paramount. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes in alternative irrigation water sources.
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- Enteric viruses (EVs) are a major cause of foodborne illnesses, and their persistence in the environment poses contamination risks for agricultural crops, especially through nontraditional irrigation sources like reclaimed and surface waters.
- A 17-month study focused on detecting specific human EVs and indicators in Mid-Atlantic region irrigation waters, using real-time quantitative PCR to assess viral presence and environmental factors.
- The results indicated higher detection rates of EVs and PMMoV in reclaimed water compared to surface water, showing significant correlations with water salinity and highlighting the need for microbiological analysis to ensure food safety.
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- Climate change is straining freshwater resources, necessitating the search for safe, alternative water sources for irrigation of fresh produce.
- A 26-month study analyzed bacterial contamination levels in water from various sites (like creeks, tidal rivers, and ponds) to assess their safety for irrigation, with many samples showing high levels of total coliforms and enterococci.
- Only a few sites met food safety standards, but implementing recommended measures could enable all tested water sources to safely be used for irrigation within 2 days, highlighting the importance of this research for food safety and agricultural practices.
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- This study investigated the presence of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes in various irrigation water sources over a two-year period.
- Researchers found that river waters had higher levels of S. enterica compared to pond or reclaimed waters, while non-tidal river sites showed significantly more L. monocytogenes during cooler months.
- The study also highlighted that filtering larger water volumes (10 L) was much more effective at detecting these pathogens than smaller samples (1 L and 0.1 L).
Agricultural water withdrawals account for the largest proportion of global freshwater use. Increasing municipal water demands and droughts are straining agricultural water supplies. Therefore, alternative solutions to agricultural water crises are urgently needed, including the use of nontraditional water sources such as advanced treated wastewater or reclaimed water, brackish water, return flows, and effluent from produce processing facilities.
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- * Over a year, researchers collected 510 water samples from various sources, finding that 2.35% contained STEC and 9.0% contained atypical enteropathogenic E. coli (aEPEC).
- * The most commonly detected virulence factor gene was eae, and STEC isolates were primarily found in specific water sites, suggesting possible post-treatment contamination in reclaimed water.
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- A quenching agent, like sodium thiosulfate, is added to reclaimed water samples to stop chlorine from killing off bacteria during collection.
- A study compared 16S rRNA sequencing data from quenched and non-quenched water samples.
- Results indicated that the quenching process did not adversely affect the bacterial profiles analyzed through sequencing methods.