Quantitative microbial risk assessment of enteroviruses in raw-eatable vegetables irrigated by wastewater: examining different scenarios of washing

Due to the increasing water crisis, the reuse of wastewater deserves attention as a method to reduce the pressure of the water crisis, especially in developing countries. The application of health risk assessment models is a way to estimate disease burdens associated with crop irrigation by wastewater effluents. In this study, a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) with probabilistic Monte-Carlo simulation was used to estimate the annual risk of enteroviruses (EVs) infection and disease burden for consumers of effluent-irrigated raw vegetables in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Wastewater effluent samples were collected over two seasons: summer and winter. EVs were analyzed in three stages, concentration and separation, cell culture, and real-time PCR (RT-PCR). A questionnaire was used to determine the dominant patterns of vegetable washing by consumers. There were 4 vegetable washing steps: wiping away mud (A), rinsing (B), using detergents (C), using disinfectants (D). 5 patterns of washing were examined in the laboratory and the concentration of enteroviruses was measured in every pattern. pattern 1: just wiping away mud (A), pattern 2: wiping away mud and rinsing (AB), pattern 3: wiping away mud by using detergents and rinsing (ABCB), pattern 4: wiping away mud by using disinfectants and rinsing (ABDB), and pattern 5: wiping away mud by using detergents and disinfectants and rinsing (ABCBDB). For washing pattern 1, pattern 2, and pattern 3, the estimated annual infection risk of EVs was estimated to be 5.6 x 10(-1), 3.6 x 10(-1), 1.7 x 10(-1) (risk/per.day), and burden of disease was calculated as 3 x 10(-2), 2 x 10(-2), and 9 x 10(-3) (burden/year), respectively. The results showed that if vegetables are washed according to method 5, the microbial risk will be minimized and the excess prevalence of viral infections will be eliminated.

Automated summary

This study used quantitative microbial risk assessment to estimate the potential risk of enterovirus infection for consumers of effluent-irrigated raw vegetables in Tehran, Iran. The results showed that the method of vegetable washing has a significant impact on reducing microbial risk and prevalence of viral infections.