Mhlongo Ntombie Thandazile, Tekere Memory, Sibanda Timothy
Department of Environmental Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa, P.O. Box X6, Florida 1710, Johannesburg, South Africa E-mail:
Department of Biological Sciences, University of Namibia, Private Bag 13301, Windhoek, Namibia.
J Water Health. 2019 Aug;17(4):517-531. doi: 10.2166/wh.2019.122.
Insufficient potable water resources and poorly treated drinking water quality are the world's number one cause for preventable morbidity and mortality from water-related pathogenic microorganisms. Pathogenic microorganisms, including mycotoxigenic fungi, have been identified in treated drinking water. This paper presents a review of mycotoxigenic fungi as a health risk to the public as these fungi are responsible for allergies, cancers and opportunistic infections mainly to immunocompromised patients. The exacerbating factors contributing to fungal presence in water distribution systems, factors that lead to fungi being resistant to water treatment and treated drinking water quality legislations are also discussed. This paper provides a review on the prevalence of mycotoxigenic fungi and their implications to public health in treated drinking water, and the need for inclusion in treated drinking water quality regulations.
饮用水资源不足以及饮用水处理不当是全球因水传播致病微生物导致可预防发病和死亡的首要原因。在经过处理的饮用水中已发现包括产毒真菌在内的致病微生物。本文综述了产毒真菌对公众健康构成的风险，因为这些真菌主要导致免疫功能低下患者出现过敏、癌症和机会性感染。文中还讨论了导致配水系统中出现真菌的加剧因素、使真菌对水处理产生抗性的因素以及处理后饮用水质量法规。本文对产毒真菌在处理后饮用水中的流行情况及其对公众健康的影响进行了综述，并探讨了将其纳入处理后饮用水质量法规的必要性。
