Literature Review of Molecular Methods for Simultaneous Detection of Pathogens in Water

摘要

Waterborne pathogens continue to contaminate drinking water supplies and cause waterborne disease outbreaks (WBDO) despite current regulations designed to prevent and control their spread. In the United States, from 1991-2000, 173 waterborne outbreaks and 432,733 cases of illness were reported in public and individual water systems. In 1993, an estimated 400,000 people became ill in Milwaukee, Wisconsin after drinking water contaminated with Cryptosporidium parvum, a waterborne pathogen that contaminates drinking water supplies. Annually, the CDC estimates that pathogen infected drinking water results in about a million new cases of illness and about a thousand deaths. Most cases, however, are not reported to health care providers because of their self-limiting nature and that do not result in WBDOs. EPA currently regulates two indicators of microbiological drinking water quality: total coliform and turbidity. A challenge for water utilities is that current indicators of water quality do not detect all types of microbial contamination since there is a great diversity of microbial pathogens.