Masina Stephanie, Shirley Jamal, Allen Jean, Sargeant Jan M, Guy Rebecca A, Wallis Peter M, Scott Weese J, Cunsolo Ashlee, Bunce Anna, Harper Sherilee L
Department of Population Medicine, University of Guelph, 50 Stone Road East, Guelph, Ontario, CanadaN1G 2W1 E-mail:
Nunavut Research Institute, P.O. Box 1720, Iqaluit, Nunavut, CanadaX0A 0H0.
J Water Health. 2019 Feb;17(1):84-97. doi: 10.2166/wh.2018.323.
Indigenous communities in the Arctic often face unique drinking water quality challenges related to inadequate infrastructure and environmental contamination; however, limited research exists on waterborne parasites in these communities. This study examined Giardia and Cryptosporidium in untreated surface water used for drinking in Iqaluit, Canada. Water samples (n = 55) were collected weekly from June to September 2016 and tested for the presence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium using microscopy and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Exact logistic regressions were used to examine associations between parasite presence and environmental exposure variables. Using microscopy, 20.0% of samples tested positive for Giardia (n = 11) and 1.8% of samples tested positive for Cryptosporidium (n = 1). Low water temperatures (1.1 to 6.7 °C) and low air temperatures (-0.1 to 4.5 °C) were significantly associated with an increased odds of parasite presence (p = 0.047, p = 0.041, respectively). These results suggest that surface water contamination with Giardia and Cryptosporidium may be lower in Iqaluit than in other Canadian regions; however, further research should examine the molecular characterization of waterborne parasites to evaluate the potential human health implications in Northern Canada.
北极地区的原住民社区常常面临与基础设施不足和环境污染相关的独特饮用水质量挑战；然而，关于这些社区水源性寄生虫的研究却很有限。本研究检测了加拿大伊魁特市用于饮用的未经处理的地表水中的贾第虫和隐孢子虫。2016年6月至9月每周采集水样（n = 55），并使用显微镜检查和聚合酶链反应（PCR）检测贾第虫和隐孢子虫的存在情况。使用精确逻辑回归分析来研究寄生虫存在与环境暴露变量之间的关联。通过显微镜检查，20.0%的样本贾第虫检测呈阳性（n = 11），1.8%的样本隐孢子虫检测呈阳性（n = 1）。水温较低（1.1至6.7°C）和气温较低（-0.1至4.5°C）与寄生虫存在几率增加显著相关（p分别为0.047和0.041）。这些结果表明，伊魁特市地表水中贾第虫和隐孢子虫的污染可能低于加拿大其他地区；然而，进一步的研究应检测水源性寄生虫的分子特征，以评估其对加拿大北部地区人类健康的潜在影响。
