1. Microbial Risk Assessment of Tidal-Induced Urban Flooding in Can Tho City (Mekong Delta, Vietnam).
- Author
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Nguyen HQ, Huynh TTN, Pathirana A, and Van der Steen P
- Subjects
- Adolescent, Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Child, Child, Preschool, Female, Humans, Infant, Male, Middle Aged, Risk Assessment, Vietnam, Young Adult, Cities statistics & numerical data, Environmental Exposure statistics & numerical data, Floods statistics & numerical data, Water Microbiology, Water Pollutants analysis
- Abstract
Public health risks from urban flooding are a global concern. Contaminated floodwater may expose residents living in cities as they are in direct contact with the water. However, the recent literature does not provide much information about this issue, especially for developing countries. In this paper, the health risk due to a flood event occurred in Can Tho City (Mekong Delta, Vietnam) on 7 October 2013 was investigated. The Quantitative Microbial Risk Assessment method was used in this study. The data showed that the pathogen concentrations were highly variable during the flood event and exceeded water standards for surface water. Per 10,000 people in contact with the floodwater, we found Salmonella caused the highest number of infections to adults and children (137 and 374, respectively), while E. coli caused 4 and 12 cases, per single event, respectively. The results show that further investigations on health risk related to flood issues in Can Tho City are required, especially because of climate change and urbanization. In addition, activities to raise awareness- about floods, e.g., "living with floods", in the Mekong Delta should also consider health risk issues., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The founding sponsors had no role in the design of the study; in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript, and in the decision to publish the results.
- Published
- 2017
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