Waterborne Diseases: Linking public health and watershed data

Microbial contaminants in water are a major public health concern. Pathogens have been identified as a primary threat to river water quality in the United States, potentially impacting drinking and irrigation water sources and recreational waters. Agricultural runoff, feedlot operations, wastewater effluents, swimming activities, domestic and wild animals are potential sources of microbial contamination. Quantitative microbial risk assessment provides a useful framework for estimating the risk of illness as a result of exposure to pathogens; however, very little information is available with regards to the impact of watershed conditions on the prevalence of illnesses. A challenge for microbial risk modeling pertains to quantitatively estimating sources of pathogens in the environment and their fate and transport in various media. Prior to the development of a microbial risk model, primary pathogen sources, pathogens of concern, the receptors, and the routes of exposure need to be established. This paper presents Massachusetts as a case study for linking public health data of waterborne diseases with sources of drinking water, potential recreational exposures, as well as hydrologic, climatic, and land use data. Information of reported illnesses from known waterborne pathogens will be synthesize