Parasitological Pollution Assessment of Wastewaters and Sewage Sludge in the Territories of Southern Russia

Parasitological monitoring of environmental objects plays an important role in the sanitary and epidemiological surveillance system. To control and ensure biological safety, wastewaters are subject to mandatory research because that is where the maximum concentration of parasitic pathogens that can enter the human body is recorded. Since 2011, the Rostov Research Institute of Microbiology and Parasitology of the Rospotebnadzor has conducted 14,055 sanitary and parasitological studies of (pre- and posttreatment) wastewaters and (liquid and dried) sewage sludge sampled at sewage treatment facilities in various territories of the south of Russia. The specific weight of positive wastewater samples before treatment averaged 60.5%, and after treatment, 46.8%. In the spectrum of parasitic pathogens detected in the wastewaters, eggs of Toxocara, ascarids and whipworms were predominantly found. The number of positive sewage sludge samples was 35.2% in the Republic of Adygea, 30.9% in the Republic of Karachay-Cherkessia, 20.5% in the Rostov Region, 34.0% in the Astrakhan Region, and 34.2% in the Krasnodar Territory. Thus, sewage treatment facilities in the south of Russia are epidemiologically significant objects that cause a risk of parasitic pathogen distribution in external environment.