Delivering healthy water: building the science-policy interface to protect bathing water quality

英国洗澡水的质量是通过对整个洗澡季节被称为粪便指示生物(FIOS)的细菌进行计数来评估的。用于捕捞贝类的水域也受到了FiOS的监测。大肠杆菌是一种来自温血动物肠道的常见FIO，是无害的，但在环境样本或贝类肉类中检测到它可能表明存在来自粪便材料的致病微生物。在指定的沐浴和贝类捕捞水域检测到的细菌水平高于欧盟指令规定的标准，可能导致海滩关闭或贝类种群被归类为不适合人类消费，因此可能对当地经济和社会活动以及人类健康产生严重影响。从2012年开始，英国微生物状况较差的海滩数量将会增加，因为欧洲引入了与修订后的《沐浴水域指令》相关的更严格的标准。满足这些新标准并避免违规(从而避免经济后果)将是一项挑战。然而，关于传统量化方法与新型量化方法的适用性的平行辩论，为监管机构增加了一层额外的复杂性。最近，美国已经开始考虑将基于分子的计数工具作为“经过试验和测试”的替代方法，尽管这种方法依赖于我们培养细菌的能力，但速度较慢。这很可能导致英国面临更大的压力，要求他们也考虑改变方法。然而，随着快速创新方法的出现，如何最好地将技术创新转化为最新的法规，也带来了艰难的决定。随着尖端科学为微生物检测和计数提供新的和更有效的技术，鉴于目前相关的局限性和不确定性，需要对这些方法的操作效用进行平衡评价。例如，虽然分子方法提供了快速的细菌计数，但它们还没有得到适当的评估，以用于监管监测目的，而且关于其对浴区微生物计数的精确度和准确性存在很大的不确定性。如果不认真评估，同样的创新科学如果仓促实施，实际上可能会带来负面的社会和经济影响，因为对新技术和新兴技术如何与现有的与健康有关的水质标准相对应的认识不足。随着更严格的标准越来越近，至关重要的是，科学用户和提供者不要冒险进行可能会增加英国合规记录的复杂程度的方法转变。为应对这一挑战，一个工作组(WG)已经成立，该工作组关注用于微生物水质合规参数的新兴定量分子工具。工作组汇集了来自学术、监管和利益相关者组织的专家，以建立一个知识共享社区。工作组将利用一系列研讨会，并利用更广泛的国家和国际专业知识，建立一个商定的证据基础，以支持和指导未来的中短期决策。将通过三个主题讲习班对分子工具进行审问，重点是(1)分子工具的基本科学和技术；(2)它们为流域管理提供信息的潜力；以及(3)它们的经济影响。工作组成员已经一致同意将该项目的成果和建议通知世界卫生组织(该组织一直负责制定《欧洲沐浴水指令》的修订)。保护公众健康是当务之急。通过确保微生物水质监管和管理的科学基础是透明的和彻底的评估，我们可以保证采取必要的步骤，通过减少洗澡和贝类消费的微生物风险来造福公众健康。

The quality of UK bathing waters is assessed by enumerating bacteria known as faecal indicator organisms (FIOs) throughout the bathing season. Waters used to harvest shellfish are monitored for FIOs too. E. coli is a common FIO derived from the gut of warm blooded animals and is harmless, but its detection in environmental samples or shellfish flesh indicates the potential for the presence of disease causing microbes derived from faecal material. Their detection at designated bathing and shellfish harvesting waters at levels above standards specified within EU directives can lead to beach closures or shellfish stocks being classed as unfit for human consumption and can therefore have serious implications for local economies and social activity as well as human health. From 2012 the number of UK beaches of poor microbiological status is set to rise because of the introduction of more stringent standards associated with the revised Bathing Waters Directive in Europe. Meeting these new standards and avoiding infraction (and therefore economic consequences) will be a challenge. However, parallel debates over the suitability of traditional versus novel quantification methods add an extra layer of complexity for regulators to grapple with. Recently the US has begun to consider molecular-based enumeration tools as an alternative to 'tried and tested' albeit slower methods that rely on our ability to grow bacteria. This is likely to lead to increased pressure in the UK to consider a methodological shift too. However, with the emergence of rapid novel approaches come difficult decisions for how best to translate technological innovation into up-to-date regulation. As cutting edge science delivers new and more efficient technologies for microbial detection and enumeration there comes a requirement for balanced evaluation of such approaches with regard to their operational utility given their associated limitations and uncertainties at current time. For example, while molecular approaches provide rapid bacterial counts they have yet to be properly evaluated for regulatory monitoring purposes and there is much uncertainty regarding their precision and accuracy for microbial enumeration in the bathing zone. Without careful evaluation the same innovative science could actually bring about negative societal and economic impacts if implemented in haste due to poor understanding of how new and emerging techniques map onto existing health-related water quality standards. With more stringent standards drawing ever closer it is critical that science users and providers do not gamble with a methodological transition that could add further complications to the UK's compliance record.A Working Group (WG) concerned with emerging quantitative molecular tools for microbial water quality compliance parameters has been formed in response to this challenge. The WG brings together experts from across academic, regulatory and stakeholder organisations to build a knowledge-sharing community. Using a workshop series, and drawing on wider national and international expertise, the WG will build an agreed evidence base to underpin and guide future decision-making in the short to medium term. Molecular tools will be interrogated via three themed workshops focusing on (i) the underlying science and technology of molecular tools; (ii) their potential to inform catchment management; and (iii) their economic impact. Members of the WG are already aligned to inform the World Health Organisation (which has been responsible for the development of revisions to the Bathing Water Directive for Europe) of outputs and recommendations from the project. Protecting public health is a priority. By ensuring that the science underpinning regulation and management of microbial water quality is transparent and thoroughly evaluated we can guarantee that the necessary steps are taken to benefit public health through reduced microbial risk from bathing and shellfish consumption.