IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v19y2022i3p1657-d739877.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Parasitological Assessment of Sewage Sludge Samples for Potential Agricultural Reuse in Tunisia

Author

Listed:
  • Sonia Sabbahi

    (LR16INRGREF02 Laboratoire de Recherche Valorisation des Eaux Non Conventionnelles, Institut National de Recherche en Génie Rural Eaux et Forêts (INRGREF) Rue Hédi Karray, Université de Carthage, Ariana 2080, Tunisia)

  • Layla Ben Ayed

    (Laboratoire Sciences et Technologies des Eaux, Institut National Agronomique de Tunisie, 43 Avenue Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1082, Tunisia)

  • Monia Trad

    (LR16INRGREF02 Laboratoire de Recherche Valorisation des Eaux Non Conventionnelles, Institut National de Recherche en Génie Rural Eaux et Forêts (INRGREF) Rue Hédi Karray, Université de Carthage, Ariana 2080, Tunisia)

  • Ronny Berndtsson

    (Centre for Advanced Middle Eastern Studies, Division of Water Resources Engineering, Lund University, SE-22100 Lund, Sweden)

  • Panagiotis Karanis

    (Department of Basic and Clinical Sciences, University of Nicosia Medical School, 21 Ilia Papakyriakou, 2414 Engomi, CY-1700 Nicosia, Cyprus)

Abstract

Wastewater sludge represents an important resource for reuse in agriculture. However, potentially harmful pathogens are a main threat in this context. Thus, the aim of this study was to examine the presence of helminth ova and protozoan cysts in dried sewage sludge samples collected from ten wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in eight governorates in Tunisia. Based on morphological criteria, protozoan cysts of Giardia spp., Entamoeba histolytica / dispar / moshkovskii , and Entamoeba coli , were detected in all dried sludge composite samples (N = 116) from the investigated WWTPs. The mean concentration ranged from 1.4 to 10.7 cysts per 100 g dry matter (DM). The identified helminth eggs were Ascaris spp., Strongyles , Taeniid eggs, Hymenolepis nana , Enterobius vermicularis , and hookworm species. Ascaris spp. and Taeniid eggs were detected in 56.9 and 74.1% of analyzed samples, respectively. The presence of Trichuris spp., Hymenolepis diminuta , and Toxocara spp. eggs in dried sewage sludge samples was low (0.9, 1.7, and 2.6%, respectively). The mean concentration of helminth eggs during the three-year study was less than 1 egg/100 g DM. All examined dried sewage sludge sample contents were below the WHO (2006) and US EPA (2003) recommendations, and thus, the sludge can potentially be reused in agriculture.

Suggested Citation

  • Sonia Sabbahi & Layla Ben Ayed & Monia Trad & Ronny Berndtsson & Panagiotis Karanis, 2022. "Parasitological Assessment of Sewage Sludge Samples for Potential Agricultural Reuse in Tunisia," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-18, January.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1657-:d:739877
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1657/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/3/1657/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Emily F. Shanahan & Anne Roiko & Neil W. Tindale & Michael P. Thomas & Ronald Walpole & D. İpek Kurtböke, 2010. "Evaluation of Pathogen Removal in a Solar Sludge Drying Facility Using Microbial Indicators," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 7(2), pages 1-18, February.
    2. Maria Cristina Collivignarelli & Alessandro Abbà & Andrea Frattarola & Marco Carnevale Miino & Sergio Padovani & Ioannis Katsoyiannis & Vincenzo Torretta, 2019. "Legislation for the Reuse of Biosolids on Agricultural Land in Europe: Overview," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(21), pages 1-22, October.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Monica Adriana Costea & Cristina Adriana Rosan & Vasile Laslo & Eliza Agud & Cornelia Purcarea & Simona Ioana Vicas, 2024. "The Comet Assay as a Sustainable Method for Evaluating the Genotoxicity Caused by the Soluble Fraction Derived from Sewage Sludge on Diverse Cell Types, Including Lymphocytes, Coelomocytes and Allium ," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(1), pages 1-18, January.
    2. Nidhal Marzougui & Nadia Ounalli & Sonia Sabbahi & Tarek Fezzani & Farah Abidi & Sihem Jebari & Sourour Melki & Ronny Berndtsson & Walid Oueslati, 2022. "How Can Sewage Sludge Use in Sustainable Tunisian Agriculture Be Increased?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-22, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Giuseppe Campo & Alberto Cerutti & Claudio Lastella & Aldo Leo & Deborah Panepinto & Mariachiara Zanetti & Barbara Ruffino, 2021. "Production and Destination of Sewage Sludge in the Piemonte Region (Italy): The Results of a Survey for a Future Sustainable Management," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(7), pages 1-13, March.
    2. Salah Jellali & Yassine Charabi & Muhammad Usman & Abdullah Al-Badi & Mejdi Jeguirim, 2021. "Investigations on Biogas Recovery from Anaerobic Digestion of Raw Sludge and Its Mixture with Agri-Food Wastes: Application to the Largest Industrial Estate in Oman," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-20, March.
    3. Vito Horvatić & Helena Bakić Begić & Davor Romić & Marko Černe & Smiljana Goreta Ban & Monika Zovko & Marija Romić, 2021. "Evaluation of Land Potential for Use of Biosolids in the Coastal Mediterranean Karst Region," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(10), pages 1-22, October.
    4. Natalia Milojevic & Agnieszka Cydzik-Kwiatkowska, 2021. "Agricultural Use of Sewage Sludge as a Threat of Microplastic (MP) Spread in the Environment and the Role of Governance," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-16, October.
    5. Ana Simoes-Mota & Rosa Maria Poch & Alberto Enrique & Luis Orcaray & Iñigo Virto, 2021. "Soil Quality Assessment after 25 Years of Sewage Sludge vs. Mineral Fertilization in a Calcareous Soil," Land, MDPI, vol. 10(7), pages 1-20, July.
    6. Monika Jakubus, 2023. "Quantitative Distribution and Contamination Risk Assessment of Cu and Zn in Municipal Sewage Sludge," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-18, August.
    7. Maria Cristina Collivignarelli & Alessandro Abbà & Marco Carnevale Miino & Vincenzo Torretta & Elena Cristina Rada & Francesca Maria Caccamo & Sabrina Sorlini, 2020. "Adsorption of Fluorides in Drinking Water by Palm Residues," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-12, May.
    8. Di Capua, Francesco & Spasiano, Danilo & Giordano, Andrea & Adani, Fabrizio & Fratino, Umberto & Pirozzi, Francesco & Esposito, Giovanni, 2020. "High-solid anaerobic digestion of sewage sludge: challenges and opportunities," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 278(C).
    9. Gabriele Di Giacomo & Pietro Romano, 2022. "Evolution and Prospects in Managing Sewage Sludge Resulting from Municipal Wastewater Purification," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(15), pages 1-33, August.
    10. Houda Oueriemmi & Petra Susan Kidd & Carmen Trasar-Cepeda & Beatriz Rodríguez-Garrido & Rahma Inès Zoghlami & Kaouther Ardhaoui & Ángeles Prieto-Fernández & Mohamed Moussa, 2021. "Evaluation of Composted Organic Wastes and Farmyard Manure for Improving Fertility of Poor Sandy Soils in Arid Regions," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 11(5), pages 1-19, May.
    11. Camilo Venegas & Andrea C. Sánchez-Alfonso & Crispín Celis & Fidson-Juarismy Vesga & Mauricio González Mendez, 2021. "Management Strategies and Stakeholders Analysis to Strengthen the Management and Use of Biosolids in a Colombian Municipality," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-25, November.
    12. Maria Cristina Collivignarelli & Alessandro Abbà & Francesca Maria Caccamo & Silvia Calatroni & Vincenzo Torretta & Ioannis A. Katsoyiannis & Marco Carnevale Miino & Elena Cristina Rada, 2021. "Applications of Up-Flow Anaerobic Sludge Blanket (UASB) and Characteristics of Its Microbial Community: A Review of Bibliometric Trend and Recent Findings," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(19), pages 1-25, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:3:p:1657-:d:739877. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.