Browsing by Author "Whitman, Richard"
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- Beach sand and the potential for infectious disease transmission: observations and recommendationsPublication . Solo-Gabriele, Helena; Harwood, Valerie J.; Kay, David; Fujioka, Roger; Sadowsky, Michael; Whitman, Richard; Wither, Andrew; Caniça, Manuela; Carvalho da Fonseca, Rita; Duarte, Aida; Edge, Thomas; Gargaté, Maria João; Gunde-cimerman, Nina; Hagen, Ferry; Mclellan, Sandra; Silva, Alexandra; Novak Babič, Monika; Prada, Susana; Rodrigues, Raquel; Romão, Daniela; Sabino, Raquel; Samson, Robert; Segal, Esther; Staley, Christopher; Taylor, Huw D.; Veríssimo, Cristina; Viegas, Carla; Barroso, Helena; Brandão, JoãoRecent studies suggest that sand can serve as a vehicle for exposure of humans to pathogens at beach sites, resulting in increased health risks. Sampling for microorganisms in sand should be considered for inclusion in regulatory programmes aimed at protecting recreational beach users from infectious disease. In an effort to provide recommendations for sand sampling programmes in the original article, we outlined published guidelines for beach monitoring programmes, currently focused exclusively on measuring microbial levels in water. We also provided background on spatial distribution and temporal characteristics of microbes in sand, as these factors influence sampling programmes. First steps toward establishing a sand sampling programme include identifying appropriate beach sites and use of initial sanitary assessments to refine site selection. A tiered approach is recommended for monitoring. This approach would include the analysis of samples from many sites for faecal indicator organisms and other conventional analytes, while testing for specific pathogens and unconventional indicators is reserved for high-risk sites. Given the diversity of microbes found in sand, studies are urgently needed to identify the most significant aetiological agent of disease and to relate microbial measurements in sand.
- Effects of a Changing Earth on Microbial Dynamics and Human Health Risks in the Water/Sand ContinuumPublication . Weiskerger, Chelsea; Brandão, João; Robinson, Clare; Staley, Chris M.; Kleinheinz, Greg; Nshimyimana, Jean Pierre; Kinzelman, Julie; Nevers, Meredith B; Sadowsky, Michael Jay; Phanikumar, Mantha S; Whitman, Richard; Edge, Tom Andrew; Piggot, Alan; Boehm, Alexandria; Aslan, Asli; Badgley, Brian; Heaney, Christopher; Symonds, Erin; Solo-Gabriele, Helena; Fleisher, Jay; Harwood, Jody; Yamahara, Kevan; Vogel, Laura; Jordão, Luisa; Avolio, Lindsay; Merilainen, Paivi; Pitkanen, Tarja; Warish, Ahmed; Staley, Zachery; Klaus, JamesHumans may be exposed to microbial pathogens at recreational beaches via environmental sources such as water and sand. Although infectious disease risk from exposure to waterborne pathogens, and the fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) used to monitor water quality are active areas of research, sand is a relatively unexplored reservoir of pathogens and FIB. Sand and water at beaches experience continuous exchange of microorganisms, and these habitats provide unique advantages and challenges to pathogen introduction, growth, and persistence. Models of FIB and pathogen fate and transport in beach habitats can aid prediction of the risk of infectious disease from recreational water use, but filling knowledge gaps is necessary for accurate modeling. Climate change predictions estimate an increase in global temperatures of 2.5 – 10° F, sea level rise, and intensification of storms and precipitation in some regions. Other global change factors like population growth and urbanization may exacerbate predicted impacts. These changes can alter microbial population dynamics in beach habitats, and may consequently affect the assumptions and relationships used in numerical models. We discuss literature on microbial population and transport dynamics in sand/beach habitats, with an emphasis on how climate change and other anthropogenic influences (e.g., land use, urbanization) should be considered when using and developing models.
- Microbes in Beach Sands: Integrating Environment, Ecology and Public HealthPublication . Whitman, Richard; Harwood, Valerie; Edge, Thomas; Nevers, Meredith; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Vijayavel, Kannappan; Brandão, João; Sadowsky, Michael; Wheeler Alm, Elizabeth; Crowe, Allan; Ferguson, Donna; Ge, Zhongfu; Halliday, Elizabeth; Kinzelman, Julie; Kleinheinz, Greg; Przybyla-Kelly, Kasia; Staley, Christopher; Staley, Zachery; Solo-Gabriele, HelenaBeach sand is a habitat that supports many microbes, including viruses, bacteria, fungi and protozoa (micropsammon). The apparently inhospitable conditions of beach sand environments belie the thriving communities found there. Physical factors, such as water availability and protection from insolation; biological factors, such as competition, predation, and biofilm formation; and nutrient availability all contribute to the characteristics of the micropsammon. Sand microbial communities include autochthonous species/phylotypes indigenous to the environment. Allochthonous microbes, including fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) and waterborne pathogens, are deposited via waves, runoff, air, or animals. The fate of these microbes ranges from death, to transient persistence and/or replication, to establishment of thriving populations (naturalization) and integration in the autochthonous community. Transport of the micropsammon within the habitat occurs both horizontally across the beach, and vertically from the sand surface and ground water table, as well as at various scales including interstitial flow within sand pores, sediment transport for particle-associated microbes, and the large-scale processes of wave action and terrestrial runoff. The concept of beach sand as a microbial habitat and reservoir of FIB and pathogens has begun to influence our thinking about human health effects associated with sand exposure and recreational water use. A variety of pathogens have been reported from beach sands, and recent epidemiology studies have found some evidence of health risks associated with sand exposure. Persistent or replicating populations of FIB and enteric pathogens have consequences for watershed/beach management strategies and regulatory standards for safe beaches. This review summarizes our understanding of the community structure, ecology, fate, transport, and public health implications of microbes in beach sand. It concludes with recommendations for future work in this vastly under-studied area.
- Microbial Sand Dynamics Influencing FIB Levels at Beaches and Potential Climate Change InfluencesPublication . Solo-Gabriele, Helena; Brandão, João; Whitman, RichardIntroductory presentation to a scientific discussion on the influence of climatic elements on microbial sand contaminants.
- Minutes of the sand meeting during the USEPA beach conference 2016Publication . Brandão, João; Whitman, Richard; Solo-Gabriele, Helena MIntroduction to the document: Before the US EPA Recreational Beaches Conference of April 2016 in New Orleans there was a series of email exchanges in beachnet; comparing the sand/microbe hydrodynamics of difference regions of the world and their influence on fecal indicator bacteria levels. As a follow-up of the mail exchange, a live meeting took place during the conference, divided in an introductory meeting (13th April) and a general discussion meeting (14th April). The Minutes of these meetings were joined together this document. Its first section corresponds to the general discussion meeting and the second to the introductory meeting. Abstract: The goal of the meeting was to draw upon researcher experiences from all regions around the world to develop a consensus conceptual model that would explain the impacts of sand dynamics on FIB levels in both sand and water. With this consensus model, statements could be made about the impacts of climate change on microbe levels at the water/sand interface. The meeting was structured with three presentations followed by a focus on developing two consensus statements: one focused on the influence of sand dynamics on FIB levels and another focused on climate change impacts. The three presentations at the beginning of the meeting were given by Kevan Yamahara, Alan Piggot and Laura Vogel. Consensus Statement #1: Hydrometerological trends impact sand dynamics. Consensus Statement #2: The geomorphological and hydrometerological conditions affect FIB dynamics in sands.
- Performance of Human Fecal Anaerobe-Associated PCR-Based Assays in a Multi-Laboratory Method Evaluation StudyPublication . Layton, Blythe; Yiping, Cao; Ebentier, Darcy; Kaitlyn, Hanley; Ballesté, Elisenda; Brandão, João; Byappanahalli, Muruleedhara; Converse, Reagan; Farnleitner, Andreas; Gentry-Shields, Jennifer; Gidley, Maribeth; Gourmelon, Michèle; Soo Lee, Chang; Lee, Jiyoung; Lozach, Solen; Madi, Tania; Meijer, Wim; Noble, Rachel; Peed, Lindsay; Reischer, Georg; Rodrigues, Raquel; Rose, Joan; Schriewer, Alexander; Sinigalliano, Chris; Srinivasan, Sangeetha; Stewart, Jill; Van De Werfhorst, Laurie; Wang, Dan; Whitman, Richard; Wuertz, Stefan; Jay, Jenny; Holden, Patricia; Boehm, Alexandria; Shanks, Orin; Griffith, JohnA number of PCR-based methods for detecting human fecal material in environmental waters have been developed over the past decade, but these methods have rarely received independent comparative testing in large multi-laboratory studies. Here, we evaluated ten of these methods (BacH, BacHum-UCD, B. thetaiotaomicron (BtH), BsteriF1, gyrB, HF183 endpoint, HF183 SYBR, HF183 Taqman, HumM2, and M. smithii nifH (Mnif)) using 64 blind samples prepared in one laboratory. The blind samples contained either one or two fecal sources from human, wastewater or non-human sources. The assay results were assessed for presence/absence of the human markers and also quantitatively while varying the following: 1) classification of samples that were detected but not quantifiable (DNQ) as positive or negative; 2) reference fecal sample concentration unit of measure (such as culturable indicator bacteria, wet mass, total DNA, etc); and 3) human fecal source type (stool, sewage or septage). Assay performance using presence/absence metrics was found to depend on the classification of DNQ samples. The assays that performed best quantitatively varied based on the fecal concentration unit of measure and laboratory protocol. All methods were consistently more sensitive to human stools compared to sewage or septage in both the presence/absence and quantitative analysis. Overall, HF183 Taqman was found to be the most effective marker of human fecal contamination in this California-based study.
- Routine screening of harmful microorganisms in beach sands: Implications to public healthPublication . Sabino, Raquel; Rodrigues, Raquel; Costa, Inês; Carneiro, Carla; Cunha, Maria Ana; Duarte, Aida; Faria, Natália; Ferreira, Filipa; Gargaté, Maria João; Júlio, Cláudia; Martins, Maria da Luz; Nevers, Meredith; Oleastro, Mónica; Solo-Gabriele, Helena; Veríssimo, Cristina; Viegas, Carla; Whitman, Richard; Brandão, JoãoBeaches worldwide provide recreational opportunities to hundreds of millions of people and serve as important components of coastal economies. Beach water is often monitored for microbiological quality to detect the presence of indicators of human sewage contamination so as to prevent public health outbreaks associated with water contact. However, growing evidence suggests that beach sand can harbor microbes harmful to human health, often in concentrations greater than the beach water. Currently, there are no standards for monitoring, sampling, analyzing, or managing beach sand quality. In addition to indicator microbes, growing evidence has identified pathogenic bacteria, viruses, and fungi in a variety of beach sands worldwide. The public health threat associated with these populations through direct and indirect contact is unknown because so little research has been conducted relating to health outcomes associated with sand quality. In this manuscript, we present the consensus findings of a workshop of experts convened in Lisbon, Portugal to discuss the current state of knowledge on beach sand microbiological quality and to develop suggestions for standardizing the evaluation of sand at coastal beaches. The expert group at the "Microareias 2012" workshop recommends that 1) beach sand should be screened for a variety of pathogens harmful to human health, and sand monitoring should then be initiated alongside regular water monitoring; 2) sampling and analysis protocols should be standardized to allow proper comparisons among beach locations; and 3) further studies are needed to estimate human health risk with exposure to contaminated beach sand. Much of the manuscript is focused on research specific to Portugal, but similar results have been found elsewhere, and the findings have worldwide implications