2:00-3:00pm
Fecal pollution in recreational and drinking source waters can result in outbreaks leading to the transmission of disease. Information on the sources of fecal pollution is important because the level of human health risk can change from one pollution source to another. Understanding the source of disease causing enteric pathogens (e.g., norovirus) in outbreak environments is vital for determining and prioritizing remediation strategies. General fecal indicators, such as E. coli and enterococci, are typically used to assess fecal pollution; however, these methodologies do not discriminate between pollution sources. Recent advancements in the field of molecular biology have led to the development of microbial source tracking (MST) tools that can characterize fecal pollution from different animal groups.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is utilizing MST tools developed by EPA scientists for environmental investigations of waterborne outbreaks. For this webinar, Dr. Orin Shanks (EPA) will provide an overview on EPA's MST method development activities, and Dr. Mia Mattioli (CDC) will highlight a CDC response to a recent waterborne outbreak where an EPA developed human-associated MST procedure was employed to help confirm a source of norovirus. This case scenario demonstrates how EPA and CDC interagency collaborations provide invaluable assistance to state environmental investigations of waterborne outbreaks.