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FECAL POLLUTION, PUBLIC HEALTH AND MICROBIAL SOURCE TRACKING
Citation:
STEWART, J., J. W. SANTO-DOMINGO, AND T. J. WADE. FECAL POLLUTION, PUBLIC HEALTH AND MICROBIAL SOURCE TRACKING. Chapter 1, J. W. Santo-Domingo and M. J. Sadowsky (ed.), Microbial Source Tracking. American Society for Microbiology, Washington, DC, , N/A, (2007).
Impact/Purpose:
SDWA
Description:
Microbial source tracking (MST) seeks to provide information about sources of fecal water contamination. Without knowledge of sources, it is difficult to accurately model risk assessments, choose effective remediation strategies, or bring chronically polluted waters into compliance with regulatory policies. With the tools being developed for fecal source identification, host-specific characteristics of microorganisms can be identified and used to distinguish sources of pollution. The methods and principles used to identify fecal contamination sources in the water and the food industries are similar, although in the latter pathogens instead of bacterial indicators are more often used as the target organism. The goal of this chapter is to define the problems associated with fecal pollution (with special attention to gastroenteritis), describe some of the different uses of source tracking tools, briefly describe the methods commonly used in source identification, establish the link between source tracking and foodborne and waterborne illnesses, and discuss the impact accurate identification has on microbial risk assessment and in the implementation of adequate risk management strategies.
