Climate change could soon increase our exposure to viruses from wastewater

Climate change has already started to change the environment in many ways, but scientists also watch vigilant according to the wave effects that spread to human health. Now increase the alarm through exposure to viruses that linger in the wastewater, while the world storms more often this century.

A new one study Published in the journal Water research Warnings of viruses by wastewater systems, a risk of public health, which could increase in severity if wastewater continues to be spilled into lakes and rivers after storms. In order to better understand the survival of the virus in water, the researchers focused on environmental factors such as different weather conditions and salinity.

Viruses that start in the sewer

Pathogenic viruses often occur Wastewater From a fecal matter of infected people who can hand over billions of virus particles when using the toilet. These often have the form of enteric viruses that mainly influence the stomach intestine tract and cause symptoms such as diarrhea and nausea. This group of virus includes adenovirus, rotavirus and hepatitis -a virus.

Although wastewater treatment plants can usually remove up to 99 percent of the contamination, it is still possible that a virus-loaded wastewater will be initiated into the environment. This has become a growing concern of public health, as it is expected that extreme precipitation events will condemn the earth in the coming years. As a result, sewage overflows can soon become more common and spread pathogens on water body. Make things worse, a hike in summer Heat waves In the future, more people will flow into leisure waters and tighten the opportunities of a possible exposure to wastewater viruses by human exposure.

Read more: Intensive storms bring 16 billion tons of snow to Greenland and restore the ice sheets

How sunlight can defeat viruses

The new study aimed at how salt content and sunlight influence the survival of viruses in water. After the introduction of sewage -controlled viruses in rehearsals of the river, mouth and sea water, the researchers monitored the effects of these factors on viral decay. You have specially measured the T90 refrigeration rates that represent the time that the virus loads need to decrease by 90 percent.

The salt content experiment resulted in mixed results, whereby the virus drop mainly depends on the type of virus. Enterovirus showed, for example, greater persistence in sea water, as higher salt content improves its thermostability. Overall, most viruses survived in the sea water longer in dark conditions compared to fresh water.

However, the salinity did not drive nearly as much as sunlight. At temperatures of up to 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), enteric viruses remained contagious for up to three days. In cooler temperatures, the survival time extended to about a week. However, if viruses were exposed to sunlight, many of them did not survive for so long and decay in less than 24 hours. In the meantime, cloudy conditions remained viable for around 2.5 days.

“Without sunlight, the virus personnel can extend from days to weeks and a continuous risk in shady or deeper waters,” said study author Jessica Kevill, an environmental virologist from Bangor University, in one opinion. “When we added a simulated sunlight to the mixture, depending on the virus, we saw a significant reduction in the viral presence within 24 to 72 hours. This indicates that UV radiation can be one of the most effective natural viral inactivators, which has important effects on water safety on the coast, especially after waste water pollution. “

In unknown water

The researchers recommend that a number of environmental factors will influence the evaluation of water quality in the future. In particular, UV radiation could help restrict virus growth in the water, but scientists also have to change escalating temperatures Salt content From the increase in sea level, which can turn microbial communities into coastal environments.

In the long run, more efficient wastewater treatment process may be spread to the bud, an improvement that could keep those who spend a day on the beach.

Read more: Microplastics can contribute to antibiotic resistance

Article Sources

Our authors at Discovermagazine.com Use peer review studies and high-quality sources for our articles, and our editors review for scientific accuracy and editorial standards. Check the sources used below for this article:

Jack Knudson is a deputy editor at Discover with a strong interest in environmental science and history. Before he came to discover in 2023, he studied journalism at the Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University and was previously interned at Recycling Today Magazine.