Distribution of faecal contamination in an urbanized tropical lake and incidence of acute diarrheal disease

Abdulaziz, Anas and Sathyendranath, Shubha and Vijayakumar, Syam Kumar and Menon, Nandini and George, Grinson and Kulk, Gemma and Raj, Devika and Krishna, Kiran and Ranith, R and Tharakan, Balu and Jasmin, C and Vengalil, Jithin and Platt, Trevor (2023) Distribution of faecal contamination in an urbanized tropical lake and incidence of acute diarrheal disease. ACS ES&T Water.

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Abstract

Aquatic ecosystems of tropical countries are vulnerable to fecal contamination that could cause spikes in the incidences of acute diarrheal disease (ADD) and challenge public health management systems. Vembanad lake, situated along the southwest coast of India, was monitored for one year (2018–2019). Escherichia coli, an indicator of faecal contamination, was prevalent in the lake throughout the year. Multiple antibiotic resistance among more than 50% of the E. coli isolates adds urgency to the need to control this contamination. The high abundance of E. coli and incidence of ADD were recorded during the early phase of the southwest monsoon (June–July), prior to the once-in-a-century floods that affected the region in the later phase (August). The extent of inundation in the low-lying areas peaked in August, but E. coli in the water peaked in July, suggesting that contamination occurred even prior to extreme flooding. During the COVID-19-related lockdown in March–May 2021, faecal contamination in the lake and incidence of ADD reached minimum values. These results indicate the need for improving sewage treatment facilities and city planning in flood-prone areas to avoid the mixing of septic sewage with natural waters during extreme climate events or even during the normal monsoon.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Faecal contamination; Escherichia coli; COVID-19; remote sensing; flood; antimicrobial resistance
Subjects:	Marine Environment > Climate change Oceanography > Remote sensing
Divisions:	CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Fishery Resources Assessment, Economics and Extension Division Subject Area > CMFRI > CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Fishery Resources Assessment, Economics and Extension Division CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Fishery Resources Assessment, Economics and Extension Division Subject Area > CMFRI-Kochi > Marine Capture > Fishery Resources Assessment, Economics and Extension Division
Depositing User:	Arun Surendran
Date Deposited:	20 Oct 2023 08:30
Last Modified:	20 Oct 2023 08:30
URI:	http://eprints.cmfri.org.in/id/eprint/17549

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