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Microbial Source Tracking: Characterization of Human Fecal Pollution in Environmental Waters with HF183 Quantitative Real-Time PCR
Citation:
Shanks, O. AND A. Korajkic. Microbial Source Tracking: Characterization of Human Fecal Pollution in Environmental Waters with HF183 Quantitative Real-Time PCR. Edition 3rd, Chapter 6, Microbial Forensics. Academic Press Incorporated, Orlando, FL, , 71-87, (2019).
Impact/Purpose:
The discharge of untreated human fecal pollution from diffuse sources can occur through a wide variety of mechanisms such as leaky or damaged sewer lines, faulty septic systems, illicit waste disposal, and sewer overflows. When present, human fecal waste can pose a serious public health risk and can lead to severe economic burdens, especially in communities that rely on clean and safe water. In the United States, fecal pollution is the number one biological contaminant in surface waters with impaired sites in every state. In response to this nationwide water quality challenge, the U.S. EPA ORD maintains an active research program to develop, validate, and implement tools to characterize fecal pollution sources in environmental waters. This book chapter summarizes the discovery, development, validation, and use of the HF183 human-associated qPCR methodology. This effort was conducted under the EPA Research Action Plan, SSWR project 3.02.
Description:
Human waste can harbor disease-causing pathogens that can compromise public health and lead to economic burdens for any community that relies on clean and safe water resources. Regulators and public health officials rely on general fecal indicator methods (e.g., Escherichia coli and enterococci) to monitor fecal pollution levels. These methodologies are designed to measure the total level of fecal pollution in water, but they are unable to discriminate between human and other potential animal groups often limiting the rapid identification and remediation of human pollution sources. Recent advances in molecular biology have led to the development of human fecal source identification tools with the potential to dramatically improve water quality and safety management. This chapter describes the development, validation, and implementation of the human-associated HF183 quantitative real-time PCR technology for water quality and public health protection applications.