Abstract
Health effects of Campylobacter jejuni associated with the consumption of reclaimed water by soil aquifer treatment (SAT) were estimated based on Disability adjusted life years (DALYs) approach as a risk indicator. For this purpose, C. jejuni concentration in treated wastewater and the removal and inactivation efficiency of the bacteria by SAT (Hydraulic retention time (HRT) of 10 days) were measured. C. jejuni concentration in treated wastewater ranged from 9.2 to 1.2 104 MPN/L. The removal and inactivation efficiency of fecal coliform as a surrogate for C. jejuni was estimated to be in the range of 5.06 and 6.81 log10. These results showed that SAT was effective for the removal and inactivation of bacteria. Also, C. jejuni strains in wastewater, which were associated with Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), were identified by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Our result showed that health effects of GBS were very important for estimating DALYs. The application of these obtained results to the caluculating of the DALYs enabled the estimation of actual health effects of C. jejuni with indirect potable reuse. Mean value of the DALYs associated with C. jejuni by direct potable use of SAT effluent was estimated to be 3.96 10-4 DALYs person-1 year-1.
