Bren School OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE and MANAGEMENT University of California, Santa Barbara

 

Presents

 

Dr. Joan B. Rose

Michigan State University

 

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

12:30 – 1:30 p.m.

Bren Hall 1424

 

”Assessing Pathogens in the Great Lakes Waters:

the Role of Microbial Detection and Risk Assessment”

 

Epidemic and endemic waterborne disease and pathogen risks associated with drinking water and recreational water remain of significant concern in the Great Lakes Basin.

The Great Lakes are a unique coastal environment that not only provides fresh water for municipal, agricultural and industry use, but also supports a significant commercial and sport fishing industry. Tourism is important, and every year millions of people visit the 500-plus recreational beaches in the Great Lakes. The system supplies drinking water to 40 million Americans and Canadians. Water-quality degradation along the coastline of the Great Lakes associated with fecal pollution originating from sewage carries with it potential health risks to those using the water. Quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) is a field that has developed over the past decade and is now used to address both probability of infection and community risks. The use of new microbiological tools for modeling and monitoring and the integration between clinical and environmental microbiology will provide the necessary data, through risk assessment frameworks, to address predictions and, ultimately, provide protection for water basins worldwide while improving the ability to assess risks to public health.

Part of the series "Current Topics in Bioremediation," presented by Bren professor Patricia Holden.

For more information or assistance in accommodating a disability, please contact bjdanetra@bren.ucsb.edu