While humans require water for life, one-sixth of our species lives without access to safe water. In Africa, the situation is particularly acute because of global warming, the progression of the Sahara desert, civil unrest and poor governance, population growth, migration and poverty. In rural areas, the lack of adequate safe water and sanitary infrastructures leaves millions with doubtful wate...

Human exposure to endocrine disruptors is well documented by biomonitoring data. However, this information is limited to few chemicals like bisphenol A or phthalate plasticizers. To account for so-far unidentified endocrine disruptors and potential mixture effects we employ bioassays to detect endocrine activity in foodstuff and consequently characterize the integrated exposure to endocrine act...

A series of experiments were conducted to determine the effectiveness of rapid desiccation with dry heat at one or two points in the slaughter process to reduce bacterial contamination on beef carcass surfaces. In the first set of experiments, several combinations of desiccation and water washes were examined. Beef surfaces were inoculated with bovine feces and water washed (IW; 125 psi, 15 s, ...

Paired water samples were collected and analysed for thermotolerant coliforms (TTC) from 20 sources (17 developed or rehabilitated by Oxfam and 3 others) and from the stored household water supplies of 100 households (5 from each source) in 13 towns and villages in the Kailahun District of Sierra Leone. In addition, the female head of the 85 households drawing water from Oxfam improved sources ...

The microbiological quality of coastal or river water can be affected by fecal contamination from human or animal sources. To discriminate pig fecal pollution from other pollution, a library-independent microbial source tracking method targeting Bacteroidales host-specific 16S rRNA gene markers by real-time PCR was designed. Two pig-specific Bacteroidales markers (Pig-1-Bac and Pig-2-Bac) were ...

Rainwater itself is free from pathogens and contamination levels of stored rainwater are generally low if tanks are well protected with covers or lids but obvious sources of contamination of the rainwater runoff can originate from faecal matter deposited by birds, frogs, possums, rodents, and dead animals and insects, either on the roofs or in the gutters, or in the water tank itself. A number ...

In developing countries, the microbial contamination of household drinking water is implicated in the prevalence of various diseases. This systematic review is concerned with two health outcomes, general diarrhoea and cholera, and their relationship with water quality at point-of-use. Observational studies investigating this relationship are reviewed, as well as studies of home water treatment ...

heavy metal contamination in the environment could cause harmful effects both to human health and aquatic life. numerous remediation methods had been developed to encounter with the contamination problem prior to degrade, decrease and to purify the contaminated water at minimal concentration as low as possible. therefore, in current study, commercialized chicken eggshells and hybrid akar putra ...

Household water treatment, including boiling, chlorination and filtration, has been shown effective in improving drinking water quality and preventing diarrheal disease among vulnerable populations. We used a case-control study design to evaluate the extent to which the commercial promotion of household water filters through microfinance institutions to women's self-help group (SHG) members imp...

Drinking water quality in the United States (US) is among the safest in the world. However, many residents, often in rural areas, rely on unregulated private wells or small municipal utilities for water needs. These utilities may violate the Safe Drinking Water Act contaminant guidelines, often because they lack the required financial resources. Residents may use alternative water sources or in...