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Health Impact of Agricultural Drainage Water for Farmers in the West Nile Delta

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Abstract

The use of untreated sewage in agriculture is gaining attention as a result of rapid urbanization and increased global water scarcity. However, the incidence of waterborne infections among farmers in such areas is increasing due to the exposure of contaminated sewage. The aim of this study was to estimate the risk and health impact related to waterborne infections in farmers using agricultural drainage wastewater (ADW) for irrigation in the West Nile Delta. A total of nine viruses were detected by quantitative PCR and quantitative real-time PCR in ADW samples collected from the Dishody drain, which was found to be the most polluted branch drain in the region through a water pollution survey. The results of quantitative microbial risk assessment and disability-adjusted life year evaluation indicated that ADW of the Dishody drain is not acceptable for irrigation reuse. A water recirculation system including appropriate sewage treatment technology must be quickly installed to reduce microbial risks for farmers in the West Nile Delta.

Article Highlights

  • QMRA on Egyptian agricultural drains was evaluated.

  • Results of QMRA and DALY evaluation indicated that ADW from the Dishody drain is not acceptable for irrigation reuse.

  • A water recirculation system must be quickly established to reduce microbial risks for farmers in the West Nile Delta.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by JSPS KAKENHI (Grant no. 15H05339) and the Program for the Strategic Promotion of International Cooperation to Accelerate Innovation in Developing Countries of Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kisarazu College, 2-11-1 Kiyomidaihigashi, Kisarazu, Chiba, 292-0041, Japan

    Tsutomu Okubo, Shuya Tanaka, Shota Uchida & Shigeki Uemura

  2. Faculty of Applied Life Science, Niigata University of Pharmacy and Applied Life Sciences, 265-1 Higashijima, Akiha-ku, Niigata, Niigata, 956-8603, Japan

    Akinori Iguchi

  3. Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Kagawa College, 355 Chokushi-cho, Takamatsu, Kagawa, 761-8058, Japan

    Tadashi Tagawa

  4. Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Nagaoka College, 888 Nishikatakai, Nagaoka, Niigata, 940-8532, Japan

    Mamoru Oshiki & Nobuo Araki

  5. Water Pollution Research Department, National Research Center, Giza, 12622, Egypt

    Ahmed Tawfik

  6. Sewage Works Department, Nihon Suido Consultants Co., Ltd, 1-23-101 Esakacho, Suita, Osaka, 564-0063, Japan

    Masanobu Takahashi

  7. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tohoku University, 6-6-06 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8579, Japan

    Kengo Kubota

  8. New Industry Creation Hatchery Center, Tohoku University, 6-6-04 Aoba, Aramaki, Aoba, Sendai, Miyagi, 980-8579, Japan

    Hideki Harada

Authors
  1. Tsutomu Okubo
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  2. Akinori Iguchi
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  3. Shuya Tanaka
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  4. Shota Uchida
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  5. Tadashi Tagawa
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  6. Mamoru Oshiki
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  7. Nobuo Araki
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  8. Ahmed Tawfik
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  9. Masanobu Takahashi
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  10. Kengo Kubota
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  11. Hideki Harada
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  12. Shigeki Uemura
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Tsutomu Okubo.

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Okubo, T., Iguchi, A., Tanaka, S. et al. Health Impact of Agricultural Drainage Water for Farmers in the West Nile Delta. Int J Environ Res 13, 319–325 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-019-00176-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-019-00176-x

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