OCCURRENCE OF GIARDIA SP. AND CRYPTOSPORIDIUM SP. IN TREATED WASTE WATER

Patrícia Souza (FSP-USP); Licia Fernandes (FSP-USP); Danielle Escudeiro (FSP-USP); Livia Balsalobre (FSP-USP); Milena Dropa (FSP-USP); Glavur Rogério Matté (FSP-USP); Maria Inês Sato (CETESB); Elayse Hachich (CETESB); Maria Helena Matté (FSP-USP)

Introduction. Giardiasis and cryptosporidiosis are intestinal protozoan infections with a global distribution, which may cause diarrhoeal disease in the infected host. Both parasites may transmitted to humans by ingestion of their infectious stages. It is known that water is a significant factor regarding the transmisson of these pathogens, which increases the concern from the public health point of view. Also, infected hosts may excrete a high number of the transmissons stages. The utilization of treated waste water from sewer treatment system is a common technique osbserved  in a many countries, however it demands extra care, because pathogenic microrganisms still remain in this product. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of Giardia sp. and Cryptosporidium sp. in treated waste water destined to urban or agricultural reuse. Material and Methods. Three samples were collected from different Sewage Treatment Plants, concentration and DNA dilution (1:10, 1:100, 1:1000 and 1:10000) of the water sample was followed by genomic DNA extraction using phenol - chloroform technique. Molecular characterization was performed using gene-specific primers to detect Giardia sp and Cryptosporidium sp. in nested-PCR reactions, for both pathogens separately. Results were compared with EPA 1623. Results. The first sample was negative for both parasites. The second samples were positive for Cryptosporidium sp. in the 1:1000 dilutions. In the third sample the presence of Giardia sp. was observedin the 1:1000 dilutions. Conclusion. Based on the results presented one can conclude that treated waste water samples may contain Giardia sp.and Cryptosporidium sp., highlighting the importance of searching for these pathogens in these samples, which is considered one of the most important vehicles of Giardia sp. and Cryptosporidium sp. dissemination.