Epidemiology of Parasitic Contamination in Ship Wastewater: A Cross-Sectional Study in Black Sea Ports
Humans, sea and parasites
-
Mykola Kucherenko
,
Lina Kovalchuk
,
Elena Bobro
,
Igor Romanenko
,
Iryna Romanenko
,
Oleksandr Oslavskyi
,
Tatyana Oslavskaya
,
Kira Kompaniiets
,
Inna Kovalova
Abstract
Introduction: The impact of seawater on freshwater systems is well known. However, its role in the transmission of human diseases has not been sufficiently studied. Marine vessels entering tropical countries annually discharge thousands of tons of wastewater into water bodies. Although most vessels are equipped with wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), the lack of regulations governing parasitological control creates significant risks of contamination of water bodies with pathogens causing parasitic diseases.
Methods: Between 2006 and 2011, 489 wastewater samples from WWTP-treated vessels arriving at Black Sea ports in Ukraine from parasitic disease-endemic tropical regions were collected. The samples were analyzed for the presence of tropical helminths and for compliance with the "State Sanitary Rules and Standards for the Discharge of Waste, Oil Products, Ballast Water, and Garbage from Ships into Water Bodies" (July 9, 1997, No. 199). Sampling was conducted in accordance with the guidelines of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA Guidance for Sampling and Analysis of Sludge for POTW Facilities, EPA/833/B-89/100). Wastewater analysis was carried out according to the "Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater" (APHA, 1995), ecological standards, and technologies of the U.S. EPA — Control of Pathogens and Vector Attraction in Sewage Sludge, as well as the U.S. EPA guidance on the sampling and analysis of POTW sludge.
Results: The study results showed that 36.2% ± 0.1% of the wastewater samples did not meet bacteriological standards, and 39.9% ± 0.1% did not meet chemical standards. Furthermore, 32.5% ± 0.1% of the wastewater samples were contaminated with parasite eggs and cysts.
Conclusion: It has been demonstrated for the first time that the WWTPs of marine vessels arriving from tropical regions, which do not ensure the deworming of wastewater, pose a potential health risk to populations living in coastal areas.
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Technol., 50 (20) (2016). Environmental Science & Technology. 2016 September, 22; 50(20):
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1. The Biology of Parasites. Richard Lucius, Brigitte Loos-Frank, Richard P. Lane, Robert Poulin,
Craig Roberts, Richard K. Grencis. John Wiley & Sons. 2017. – 472 p.
2. A Century of Parasitology: Discoveries, Ideas and Lessons Learned by Scientists Who Published
in The Journal of Parasitology, 1914 – 2014. John Janovy, Jr., Gerald W. Esch, John Wiley &
Sons. – 2016. – 376 p.
3. Ecological Parasitology: Reflections on 50 Years of Research in Aquatic Ecosystems. Gerald W.
Esch, John Wiley & Sons. - 2015. - 200 р
4. A Functional Biology of Parasitism: Ecological and evolutionary implications. G.W. Esch, J.C.
Fernandez. Springer Science & Business Media. 2013 – 337 p.
5. Traill LW, Lim ML, Sodhi NS, Bradshaw CJ. Mechanisms driving change: altered species
interactions and ecosystem function through global warming. J Anim Ecol. 2010; 79:937–947.
6. Esch. GW. Parasite Communities: Patterns and Processes. Springer Science & Business Media.
- – 335 p. London, England ; New York, New York: London, England ; New York, New York :
Chapman and Hall; 2012.
7. Rhode Klaus. Marine parasitology. CABI, New York. 2005 – 592 p.
8. Parasites in Marine Systems. R. Poulin, Leslie H. Chappell. Cambridge University Press, 2002
– 207 p.
9. Efstratiou A, Ongerth JE, Karanis P. Waterborne transmission of protozoan parasites: review
of worldwide outbreaks–an update 2011–2015. Water Research. 2017; 114:14–22. 10.1016/j.
watres.2017.01.036.
10. Human Helminthiasis. Luis Rodrigo. Published February 15th, 2017.158 р. DOI 10.5772/62673.
11. Protozoan infestations. Helminthiasis: a study guide for candidates for the degree of doctor of
philosophy at the third educational and scientific level / O. V. Ryabokon, N. S. Ushenina, O. O.
Furyk, D. A. Zadyrak, T.E. Onishchenko - Zaporizhzhia: [ZD. .
12. S. Cleaveland, M.K. Laurenson, L.H. Taylor. Diseases of humans and their domestic mammals:
pathogen characteristics, host range and the risk of emergence. Phil Trans R Soc Lond B, 356
(2001), pp. 991-999.
13. Souza AA, Ducker C, Argaw D et al. Diagnostics and the neglected tropical diseases roadmap:
setting the agenda for 2030. Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2021; 115: 129-135.
14. Feldmeier H, Heukelbach J, Ugbomoiko US, Sentongo E, Mbabazi P, Samson-Himmelstjerna
G, Krantz I. Tungiasis—A Neglected Disease with Many Challenges for Global Public Health.
PLoSNegl Trop Dis. 2014;8(10):e3133.
15. World Health Organization. Sustaining the Drive to Overcome the Global Impact of Neglected
Diseases: Second WHO Report on Neglected Diseases. Geneva, Switwerland: World Health
Organization; 2013.
16. The Lancet Neglected tropical diseases: becoming less neglected. Lancet. 2014;383:1269
17. Parasites and their vectors: A special focus on Southeast Asia. Yvonne Ai Lian Lim, Indra
Vythilingam. Springer Science & Business Media. 2014 - 263 p.
18. EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ). Scientific opinion on risk assessment of parasites
in fishery products. 2010. EFSA Journal. 2010; 8(1543): 91.
19. Studer A, Thieltges D, Poulin R. Parasites and global warming: net effects of temperature on an
intertidal host–parasite system. Mar Ecol Prog Ser. 2010;415: 11–22.
20. Adekiya TA AROBOKKA. The effect of climate change and the snail-schistosome cycle in
transmission and bio-control of schistosomiasis in Sub-Saharan Africa. Int J Environ Res Public
Health.. 2020; 17: 181.
21. Medical Parasitology: A Textbook. Rohela Mahmud, Yvonne Ai Lian Lim, Amirah Amir. Springer.
2018 – 191 p.
22. Lucy FE GTTLMAMD. Biomonitoring of surface and coastal water for Cryptosporidium,
Giardia, and human-virulent microsporidia using molluscan shellfish. Parasitol Res. 2008;(103):
1369–1375.
23. Graczyk TK, Sunderland D, Awantang GN, Mashinski Y, Lucy FE, Graczyk Z, Chomicz L,
Breysse PN. Relationships among bather density, levels of human waterborne pathogens, and
fecal coliform counts in marine recreational beach water. 2010. Parasitol Res.
24. Biological and Chemical Wastewater Treatment. In book Edited by Mohamed Samer, Wastewater
Treatment Engineering. Published October 14th, 2015, 212 p., ISBN 978-953-51-2179-4.
25. Pistocchi A, Andersen HR, Bertanza G, Brander A, Choubert JM, Cimbritz M, et al. Treatment of
micropollutants in wastewater: Balancing effectiveness, costs and implications. Science of The
Total Environment. 2022 Dec; 850.
26. JT P, Costa AO dOSM, W S, SC O, de Castro EA ea. Comparing the efficacy of chlorine, chlorine
dioxide, and ozone in the inactivation of Cryptosporidium parvum in water from Parana State,
Southern Brazil. Biochemistry and Biotechnology. 2008 June.
27. Sabbahi S, Ben Ayed L, Trad M, Berndtsson R, Karanis P. Parasitological Assessment of Sewage
Sludge Samples for Potential Agricultural Reuse in Tunisia. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health
2022, 19, 1657. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph1903165. International Journal of Environmental
Research and Public Health. 2022;(1657).
28. Folasade Esther Adeyemo, Gulshan Singh, Poovendhree Reddy, Supervision, Faizal Bux,
Thor Axel Stenström, Adelaide Almeida. Efficiency of chlorine and UV in the inactivation of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in wastewater. Published online 2019 May 13. do.
29. A.M. N. Removal of Cryptosporidium by wastewater treatment processes: a review. Journal of
water and health. 2016;14(1):1–13. Epub 2016/02/04. 10.2166/wh.2015.131. Journal of Water
and Health. 2016.
30. Landry FA, Aghaindum AG, Dennis AI, Nadège OT, Pierre. T. Evaluation of the efficiency of
some disinfectants on the viability of Hymenolepis nana eggs isolated from wastewater and
faecal sludge in Yaounde (Cameroon): importance of some abiotic variables. Water Science &
Technology. 2021; 84(9): 2499-2518.
31. US EPA Environmental Regulations and Technology—Control of Pathogens and Vector Attraction
in Sewage Sludge (Including Domestic Septage). Under 40 CFR Part 503. Appendix I—Test
Method for Detecting, Enumerating, and Determining the Viability of Ascari.
32. US EPA POTW sludge sampling and analysis guidance document. EPA/833/B-89/100
USEPAOoW(..; 1989. Available from:
https://www.epa.gov/biosolids/potw-sludge-sampling-and-analysis-guidance-document.
33. APHA: Microbiological examination of water in: Standard Methods for the Examination of
Water and Wastewater. 19ª ed. Washington: APHA AW..; 1995.
34. State Sanitary Rules and Norms for the Discharge of Waste, Oil, Ballast Water, and Garbage from
Ships into Water Bodies". Ukraine. 09.07.1997. 199.
35. Calder M. CC,CD,ea. Computational modelling for decision-making: where, why, what, who and
how. Royal Society Open Science. 2018; 5(6) doi: 10.1098/rsos.172096.
36. Kucherenko M, Kovalchuk L, Strus O, Bobro E, Oslavskaya T, Oslavskyi O, et al. Biosafety
of marine vessels: current trends and prospects. International Maritime Health. 2023 June;
Vol.74(№2): 98-104.
37. Colford JMJ, Wade TJ,.Schiff KC, Wright CC, Griffith JF, Sandhu SK, et al. Water quality indicators
and the risk of illness at beaches with nonpoint sources of fecal contamination.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1097/01.ede.0000249425.32990.b9. Epidemiology. 2007 January; 18(1): 27-35.
38. Nagata Y. Microbial Degradation of Xenobiotics. Microorganisms. 2020 April; 8(4): 487.
39. Thompson KA, Shimabuku KK, Kearns JP, Knappe DRU, Summers RS, Cook SM. Environmental
comparison of biochar and activated carbon for tertiary wastewater treatment. Environ. Sci.
Technol., 50 (20) (2016). Environmental Science & Technology. 2016 September, 22; 50(20):
p.p. 11253-11262
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| Issue | Vol 11 No 2 (2025) | |
| Section | Articles | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/jbe.v11i2.20899 | |
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How to Cite
1.
Kucherenko M, Kovalchuk L, Bobro E, Romanenko I, Romanenko I, Oslavskyi O, Oslavskaya T, Kompaniiets K, Kovalova I. Epidemiology of Parasitic Contamination in Ship Wastewater: A Cross-Sectional Study in Black Sea Ports. JBE. 2025;11(2):230-245.
