Wastewater pollutants with associated infections and their recent bioremediation approaches

Water pollution is a critical global concern due to rapid urbanisation, industrialisation, population growth and anthropogenic activities. Surface water is frequently contaminated by pathogens, bacteria, fungi, protozoa, and helminths, while less often, by chemical pollutants, heavy metals, pharmaceutical residues, microplastics and agrochemicals from various sources. Modern detection techniques, polymerase chain reaction, culture-based methods, ‘nucleic acid amplification tests’, and biosensor-based platforms that encompass electrochemical, optical, fluorescent and paper-based approaches, offer promising avenues for pathogen surveillance and environmental monitoring. This review critically evaluates wastewater contaminants, their public health implications, and advances in eco-friendly remediation approaches, with a particular emphasis on bioremediation using bacteria, as well as contaminating algae and fungi. These findings highlight that bioremediation presents a sustainable, cost-effective and efficient alternative to conventional chemical and physical methods, thereby underscoring its potential for long-term wastewater management. An integrated framework combining advanced pathogen detection with bioremediation is urgently needed to mitigate pollution, safeguard ecosystems, and enhance public health resilience. Previously, bioremediation methods have been studied to monitor the gathering of wastewater contaminants by algae. Recently, in industrial applications, algae are used for the immobilisation of their whole cells due to their adsorbing potential, resulting in a cost-effective and time-efficient process. Herein, next-generation sequencing (NGS), with a time-consuming capacity due to its tedious procedures, is not in use today; NGS catalyses an invasive method of the role and activities of microbes in water systems, but it is well-suited for use in water industry practice and can aid in addressing current/ future water-related concerns.