The coastal environment and human health: microbial indicators, pathogens, sentinels and reservoirs.
The coastal environment and human health: microbial indicators, pathogens, sentinels and reservoirs.
复制标题
沿海环境与人类健康：微生物指标、病原体、哨兵和水库。
DOI：
10.1186/1476-069x-7-s2-s3
复制
发表时间：
2008-11-07
期刊：
影响因子：
--
通讯作者：
Holland AF
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Stewart JR;Gast RJ;Fujioka RS;Solo-Gabriele HM;Meschke JS;Amaral-Zettler LA;Del Castillo E;Polz MF;Collier TK;Strom MS;Sinigalliano CD;Moeller PD;Holland AF
Innovative research relating oceans and human health is advancing our understanding of disease-causing organisms in coastal ecosystems. Novel techniques are elucidating the loading, transport and fate of pathogens in coastal ecosystems, and identifying sources of contamination. This research is facilitating improved risk assessments for seafood consumers and those who use the oceans for recreation. A number of challenges still remain and define future directions of research and public policy. Sample processing and molecular detection techniques need to be advanced to allow rapid and specific identification of microbes of public health concern from complex environmental samples. Water quality standards need to be updated to more accurately reflect health risks and to provide managers with improved tools for decision-making. Greater discrimination of virulent versus harmless microbes is needed to identify environmental reservoirs of pathogens and factors leading to human infections. Investigations must include examination of microbial community dynamics that may be important from a human health perspective. Further research is needed to evaluate the ecology of non-enteric water-transmitted diseases. Sentinels should also be established and monitored, providing early warning of dangers to ecosystem health. Taken together, this effort will provide more reliable information about public health risks associated with beaches and seafood consumption, and how human activities can affect their exposure to disease-causing organisms from the oceans.
