Quality of reclaimed waters: a public health need for source tracking of wastewater-derived protozoan enteropathogens in engineered wetlands

Demand for high-quality drinking and recreational water rises exponentially owing to global demographic growth in the human population, reinforcing an urgent need for microbiologically safe reclaimed water. However, constructed wetlands, implemented into municipal wastewater treatment, may not provide substantial remediation for human protozoan enteropathogens such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia and human-virulent microsporidia. Improving reclaimed water quality by lowering faecal coliforms is not a sound solution for these pathogens. Current advances in molecular technology can benefit public health in developing and developed countries by changing the conceptual research framework for wastewater-receiving wetlands from 'pathogen removal' to 'pathogen source tracking' efforts.