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Profile photo of Ronny Berndtsson

Ronny Berndtsson

Professor, Dep Director, MECW Dep Scientific Coordinator

Profile photo of Ronny Berndtsson

Parasitological Assessment of Sewage Sludge Samples for Potential Agricultural Reuse in Tunisia

Author

  • Sonia Sabbahi
  • Layla Ben Ayed
  • Monia Trad
  • Ronny Berndtsson
  • Panagiotis Karanis

Summary, in English

Wastewater sludge represents an important resource for reuse in agriculture. However, potentially harmful pathogens are a main threat in this context. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the presence of helminth ova and protozoan cysts in dried sewage sludge samples collected from ten wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in eight governorates in Tunisia. Based on morphological criteria, protozoan cysts of Giardia spp., Entamoeba histolytica/dispar/moshkovskii, and Entamoeba coli, were detected in all dried sludge composite samples (N = 116) from the investigated WWTPs. The mean concentration ranged from 1.4 to 10.7 cysts per 100 g dry matter (DM). The identified helminth eggs were Ascaris spp., Strongyles, Taeniid eggs, Hymenolepis nana, Enterobius vermicularis, and hookworm species. Ascaris spp. and Taeniid eggs were detected in 56.9 and 74.1% of analyzed samples, respectively. The presence of Trichuris spp., Hymenolepis diminuta, and Toxo-cara spp. eggs in dried sewage sludge samples was low (0.9, 1.7, and 2.6%, respectively). The mean concentration of helminth eggs during the three-year study was less than 1 egg/100 g DM. All ex-amined dried sewage sludge sample contents were below the WHO (2006) and US EPA (2003) rec-ommendations, and thus, the sludge can potentially be reused in agriculture.

Department/s

  • MECW: The Middle East in the Contemporary World
  • Division of Water Resources Engineering
  • Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies (CMES)

Publishing year

2022-02-01

Language

English

Publication/Series

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Volume

19

Issue

3

Document type

Journal article

Publisher

MDPI AG

Topic

  • Environmental Sciences

Keywords

  • Agricultural reuse
  • Dried sewage sludge
  • Helminth ova
  • Protozoan cysts
  • Semiarid climate
  • Tunisia

Status

Published

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 1661-7827