Feleni Usisipho, Morare Rebotiloe, Masunga Ginny S, Magwaza Nontokozo, Saasa Valentine, Madito Moshawe J, Managa Muthumuni
Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability (iNanoWS), College of Science, Engineering and Technology, University of South Africa, Florida Campus, Florida Park 1710, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Department of Life and Consumer Sciences, College of Agriculture and Environmental Sciences, University of South Africa (UNISA), Florida Campus, Roodepoort, 1709, South Africa.
Environ Monit Assess. 2025 Feb 4;197(3):233. doi: 10.1007/s10661-025-13644-z.
Waterborne pathogens find their way into water bodies through contamination of fecal discharge, stormwater run-offs, agriculture and industrial activities, and poor water infrastructure. These organisms are responsible for causing diarrheal, gastroenteritis, cholera, and typhoid diseases which raise an alarming sense on public human health due to the high mortality rate, especially in children. Several studies have indicated that these waterborne diseases can be managed by monitoring pathogens in water using traditional culture-based and molecular techniques. However, these methods have shown several setbacks such as the longer duration for detection and the inability to detect pathogens at low concentrations. Effective management of these diseases requires rapid, sensitive, highly selective, fast, and efficient economic methods to monitor pathogens in water. Since the creation of biosensors, these tools have been applied and shown the ability to detect pathogens at low concentrations. The highlights of biosensor systems are that they are fast, portable, easy to use, highly sensitive, and specific. The capabilities of biosensors have given these tools exposure to be widely applied in detecting pharmaceutical pollutants, pesticides, toxins, residues of detergents, and cosmetics from household activities in soil and water. With such difficulties faced for detecting waterborne pathogens, this review evaluates the effectiveness of technologies for waterborne pathogens detection and their drawbacks. It further highlights biosensors as the current reliable method available for detecting pathogens in water and its future capabilities in sustaining safe potable water.
水传播病原体通过粪便排放、雨水径流、农业和工业活动以及不良的水基础设施污染进入水体。这些微生物会导致腹泻、肠胃炎、霍乱和伤寒等疾病，由于高死亡率，尤其是在儿童中，这些疾病对公众健康构成了令人担忧的威胁。多项研究表明，这些水传播疾病可以通过使用传统的基于培养和分子技术监测水中的病原体来进行控制。然而，这些方法存在一些问题，如检测时间较长，无法检测低浓度的病原体。有效控制这些疾病需要快速、灵敏、高度选择性、快速且高效的经济方法来监测水中的病原体。自生物传感器发明以来，这些工具已被应用，并显示出能够检测低浓度病原体的能力。生物传感器系统的亮点在于它们快速、便携、易于使用、高度灵敏且具有特异性。生物传感器的功能使这些工具得以广泛应用于检测土壤和水中的药物污染物、农药、毒素、洗涤剂残留以及家庭活动中的化妆品。鉴于检测水传播病原体面临诸多困难，本综述评估了水传播病原体检测技术的有效性及其缺点。它进一步强调生物传感器是目前可用于检测水中病原体的可靠方法及其在维持安全饮用水方面的未来能力。
