Journal Article

Parasites in Sewage: Legal Requirements and Diagnostic Tools

Krzyżowska, Małgorzata, Obuch-Woszczatyńska, Oliwia, Bylińska, Klaudia, Bąska, Piotr, Korzekwa, Karol

2025

Overview

Despite the vast amount of water on Earth, only a small percent is suitable for consumption, and these resources are diminishing. Moreover, water resources are unevenly distributed, leading to significant disparities in access to drinking water between countries and populations. Increasing consumption and the expanding human population necessitate the development of novel wastewater treatment technologies and the use of water treatment byproducts in other areas, such as fertilisers. However, water treatment sludge often cannot be used to enhance crop production due to the presence of parasite eggs, particularly from roundworms (Ascaridae family), which are resistant to environmental factors and can pose a threat for several years. Legislation prohibits the use of sludge containing parasite eggs as fertiliser. In some cases, water may not contain parasite eggs but larvae, which require different detection methods. Additionally, the presence of eggs does not necessarily indicate danger since they may lose infectivity due to prolonged storage or exposure to chemical compounds in the sewage. This paper reviews European Union regulations on wastewater treatment, the selected parasitic diseases related to the presence of parasites in wastewater, the spectrum of detection methods, and highlights differences in viability and invasiveness, which is intended to draw attention to the need to determine both biological properties of parasites.

• Publisher: MDPI AG,MDPI
• Subject: Agricultural wastes / Animals / Aquaculture / Ascaridae / Biological properties / Chemical compounds / Climate change / Consumption / Crop production / Crops / Detergents / Developing countries / Drinking water / Drug resistance / Eggs / Environmental factors / Environmental regulations / European Union / Fertilizers / Food contamination & poisoning / Heavy metals / Human populations / Humans / Infections / Infectivity / Invasiveness / Larvae / LDCs / Legislation / Moisture content / Nematodes / Parasite resistance / Parasites / Parasites - isolation & purification / Parasitic diseases / Parasitic Diseases - diagnosis / Parasitic Diseases - parasitology / Pathogens / Protozoa / Public health / Purification / Review / roundworms / Sewage / Sewage - parasitology / sewages / Sewer systems / Sludge / wastewater / Wastewater - parasitology / Wastewater treatment / Water / Water content / Water Purification - methods / Water resources / Water shortages / Water treatment