Oceans and Health: Pathogens in the Marine Environment

The release of non-disinfected wastewaters into the marine environment is a common worldwide practice, in under-developed as well as in highly developed countries. Consequently, the seas are constantly infused with wastewater bacteria, among them highly pathogenic ones.

In view of the public health significance of this phenomenon, it is surprising how little is actually known concerning the fate of such bacteria once they enter the sea. While numerous studies have addressed the effects of various environmental parameters on colony formation, many of them actually ignore the fact that bacteria can retain viability and infectivity while losing colony-forming ability.

Only in recent years have efforts also been directed at unraveling the mechanisms determining bacterial sensitivity or survival under these conditions. This, therefore, is one subject of Oceans and Health: Pathogens in the Marine Environment: the survival, infectivity, pathogenicity and viability of enteric bacteria in the sea. Chapters also detail the public health aspects of wastewater release, civil engineering and economic considerations, other sources of pathogens, and much more.