Modeling fate and transport of Cryptosporidium parvum and rotavirus in overland flow
type: CreativeWork
description: In the United States, there have been at least 1870 outbreaks associated with drinking water during the period of 1920 to 2002, causing 883,806 illnesses. Most of these outbreaks are resulted due to the presence of microbial pathogens in drinking water. Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum) has been recognized as one of the most frequently occurring microbial contaminants that can cause infection and diarrhea in many mammalian hosts, including humans. About 403,000 of an estimated 1.61 million residents in the Milwaukee area became ill with the stomach cramps, fever, diarrhea and dehydration caused by the outbreak of C. parvum in 1993. It was the largest waterborne disease outbreak in documented United States history. Similarly, rotavirus is the leading cause of death among children around the world. Each year more than two million children are hospitalized due to rotavirus infection and more than 500,000 children die from diarrheal disease caused by rotavirus. Past studies have demonstrated that environmental factors such as rainfall intensity and duration, slope, soil type and surface cover conditions significantly affect the transport of C. parvum oocyst and rotavirus in surface flow. Laboratory experiments conducted at the University of Illinois have demonstrated C. parvum oocysts and rotavirus transport is greatly influenced by climatic and soil-surface conditions like slope, soil types, soil texture, and ground cover. The objective of this study was to simulate the fate and transport of C. parvum and rotavirus in overland flow in different ground cover and slope conditions. Transport of pathogens in overland flow can be simulated mathematically by including terms for the concentration of the pathogens in the liquid phase (in suspension or free-floating) and the solid phase (adsorbed to the soil solid particles like clay, sand and silt). Advection, adsorption, and decay processes have been considered in the physically-based model. The mass balance equations have b…
abstract: In the United States, there have been at least 1870 outbreaks associated with drinking water during the period of 1920 to 2002, causing 883,806 illnesses. Most of these outbreaks are resulted due to the presence of microbial pathogens in drinking water. Cryptosporidium parvum (C. parvum) has been recognized as one of the most frequently occurring microbial contaminants that can cause infection and diarrhea in many mammalian hosts, including humans. About 403,000 of an estimated 1.61 million residents in the Milwaukee area became ill with the stomach cramps, fever, diarrhea and dehydration caused by the outbreak of C. parvum in 1993. It was the largest waterborne disease outbreak in documented United States history. Similarly, rotavirus is the leading cause of death among children around the world. Each year more than two million children are hospitalized due to rotavirus infection and more than 500,000 children die from diarrheal disease caused by rotavirus. Past studies have demonstrated that environmental factors such as rainfall intensity and duration, slope, soil type and surface cover conditions significantly affect the transport of C. parvum oocyst and rotavirus in surface flow. Laboratory experiments conducted at the University of Illinois have demonstrated C. parvum oocysts and rotavirus transport is greatly influenced by climatic and soil-surface conditions like slope, soil types, soil texture, and ground cover. The objective of this study was to simulate the fate and transport of C. parvum and rotavirus in overland flow in different ground cover and slope conditions. Transport of pathogens in overland flow can be simulated mathematically by including terms for the concentration of the pathogens in the liquid phase (in suspension or free-floating) and the solid phase (adsorbed to the soil solid particles like clay, sand and silt). Advection, adsorption, and decay processes have been considered in the physically-based model. The mass balance equations have b…
author: Bhattarai, Rabin
language: en
keywords: Hydrology, Pathogen, Water quality
date published: 2012-02-06T20:21:23Z
date modified: 2026-07-22T22:25:29Z
provider: University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: http://hdl.handle.net/2142/29845