Fungi in Drinkable Water Distribution System Seham Alsurayhi Mycology M, 6:30 PM.

Fungi in Drinkable Water Distribution System

Seham AlsurayhiMycology

M, 6:30 PM

Outline

• The history of fungal water studies.

• Sources and type of fungi found in water.

• Fungal Water Biofilms.

• How Filamentous Fungi Affect Water Quality.

• The impact on human health.

• Removal or controlling fungi in water.

• Summary.

The history of fungal water studies:

• The issue of fungi in water was observed between 1960s-1970s, people starting

noticing the bad taste and smell as well as health problems.

• Between 1980s-1990s more health problems reported in Finland,

Sweden and other countries worldwide.

• Researchers became curious to Know more about fungi occurrence in drinking water,

result from different countries show the fungal occurrence to vary between 7.5-89%.

• Greatest concerns for the water consumers is not just fungal alone, but pathogenic

microorganisms that may cause epidemiological and sanitary risks.

Sources and type of fungi found in water:Fungi can enter drinking water distribution systems through several contamination

pathways including:

• During water treatment.

• Deficiencies in stored water facilities

cross-connections.

Sources and type of fungi found in water:

• Mains breaks and intrusions.

• During mains installation and maintenance.

* According to studies filamentous fungi are those that survive in water, and these fungi all belong to hyphomycetes and oomycetes classes of fungi. For example, Alternaria alternate numerous members of Penicillium species, Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus fumigatus, Epiccocum nigrum, and a variety of molds belonging to Cladosporium species.

Aspergillus fumigatus Penicillium brevicompacum Penicillium Trichoderma

Surveys of fungi in drinking water

Country, Place, Year Period of time Type of water Main isolation method Most frequent fungal isolates

United Kingdom, 1996 Autumn and Spring Surface water and network Membrane filtration, Direct plating and Bating

Aspergillus, Cladosporium, Epicoccum, Penicillium and Trichoderma

Greece, Thessaloniki, 1998 One collection (126 samples)

Tap water (hospital and community) Membrane filtration Penicillium, Aspergillus and Acremonium

Greece, 85 haemodialysis units, 1998 One collection (255 samples)

Municipal water supplies of haemodialysis centres

Membrane filtration Penicillium and Aspergillus

Germany, North Rhine-Westphalia, 1998/9

12 months Drinking water Pour-plating Acremonium, Exophiala, Penicillium and Phialophora

Norway, 14 networks, 2002/3 December, June and September

Drinking water (surface and groundwater)

Membrane filtration Penicillium, Trichoderma and Aspergillus

Portugal, Braga, 2003/4 12 months Tap water Membrane filtration Penicillium and Acremonium

Pakistan, Karachi, 2007 One collection (30 samples) Water (and fruit juice) Direct plating Aspergillus niger and A. clavatus

Australia, Queensland, 2007/8 18 months Municipal water Membrane filtration Cladosporium, Penicillium, Aspergillus and Fusarium

Fungal Water Biofilms:•Biofilms are an important habitat for fungi in drinking water. Their development is influenced by many factors including temperature, nutrient concentration, pipe material and water flow rate.

•Biofilms are communities of microorganisms that are attached to a surface.

•Filamentous fungi find their way into water distribution systems through biofilms formed on a water distribution pipe.

A fungal biofilm living on a surface

Five stages of biofilm development:

1) Initial reversible attachment of free-swimming micro- organisms to surface.

2) Permanent attachment

3) Maturation I

4) Maturation II

5) Dispersion

How Filamentous Fungi Affect Water Quality :

Fungi, through their biofilms, negatively affect quality of products in water distribution systems:

1- they can feed on metallic pipes thereby creating pores on the pipes and causing water leakage and contamination.

2- fungi obviously contaminate water distribution systems when biofilms are formed internally, in situations where they are formed externally on a pipe, the microorganisms can penetrate the water system through the holes resulting in contaminated water.

3- Moreover, contamination may occur when other impurities enter a pipeline through the openings.

4- The presence of fungi in water can alter the taste and smell of water. Organic acids produced by fungal metabolic processes can increase the rate of corrosion of water pipes.

The impact on human health:• Fungi present in drinking water may cause severe fungal infections in

Immunosuppressed patients.

• Many species of genus Aspergillus are found in water are causative agents of kidney,

liver disorders, allergy, burns, Otitis media and increase risk of invasive infections.

• Also, that Penicillium spp. is frequently found in fresh water and its implication in

allergy, asthma or other respiratory problems has been cited in many previous research

studies.

• Filamentous fungi produce toxins and consumption of water infected by fungi may

cause allergic reactions.

Removal or controlling fungi in water:

• Removal of fungi from drinkable water would entail application of appropriate physical, chemical, or biological technique that eliminates formation of biofilms.

• Biofilms can be removed using sanitizers; however, once they are formed, the biofilms are not easy to eliminate due to the fact that the EPSs are resistant to sanitizers and so shield the microorganisms from sanitizers. for example, Chlorine is known to be relatively ineffective at controlling biofilms.

• The most dependable approach, that may be employed to prevent establishment of biofilms, is by all the time observing hygiene. The initiative involves monitoring of pipelines in order to detect and remove, as early as possible.

Summary:•Studies of fungi in drinking water have demonstrated that fungi are relatively common in water distribution systems.

• Fungi can enter drinking water distribution systems through several contamination pathways.

• Studies of filamentous fungi that cause contamination of water distribution system and their relation to biofilm formation.

• The presence of fungi in water affect water quality through alters the taste and smell of water.

• Filamentous fungi produce toxins and cause allergic reactions also, cause severe fungal infections in Immunosuppressed patients.

• Controlling fungi in water by using appropriate technique to eliminate formation of biofilms.

References:• Siqueira, V. M., Oliveira, H., Santos, C., Paterson, R. R. M., Gusmão, N. B., & Lima, N. (2011). Filamentous fungi in drinking

water, particularly in relation to biofilm formation. International journal of environmental research and public health, 8(2), 456-469.

• Hageskal, G., Lima, N., & Skaar, I. (2009). The study of fungi in drinking water. Mycological research, 113(2), 165-172.

• Arvanitidou, M., Kanellou, K., Constantinides, T. C., & Katsouyannopoulos, V. (1999). The occurrence of fungi in hospital and community potable waters. Letters in applied microbiology, 29(2), 81-84.

• Hageskal, G., Gaustad, P., Heier, B. T., & Skaar, I. (2006). Occurrence of moulds in drinking water.

• De Toni, P. S. A., & Reilly, K. (2011). A REVIEW OF FUNGI IN DRINKING WATER AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR HUMAN HEALTH.

• Warris, A., Voss, A., Abrahamsen, T. G., & Verweij, P. E. (2002). Contamination of hospital water with Aspergillus fumigatus and other molds. Clinical infectious diseases, 34(8), 1059-1060.