Parasitological Evaluation of the Purifying Performance of Wastewater Treatment Plants in Kirkuk, Iraq

Abdul Kadir Ra’oof Ahmed Barzinji

Abdul Kadir Ra’oof Ahmed Barzinji Department of Biology, College of Education for Women, University of Kirkuk, Iraq.

Keywords: Parasitic helminthes, Protozoa, Wastewater Treatment Plant, Irrigation, Kirkuk

Abstract

Background: Water is an important resource for the survival of living organisms on our planet. Recently, some countries around the world have been suffered from water scarcity due to the increase in population and decreasing of annual rainfalls in the past few years, these reasons have led to a shortage of fresh-water resources. Hence, purification of wastewaters has been adopted for agricultural and aquaculture purposes. The current study aimed to determine the presence of protozoan (oo)cysts and helminth ova in both raw and treated water in two municipal wastewater treatment plants (MWTPs) in Kirkuk province; and the validity of treated wastewater for irrigation according to global standards as well, using ZnSo4 solution floatation and filtration protocol. One hundred and sixty wastewater samples were collected from selected two MWTPs in Kirkuk province and investigated for the presence of pathogenic parasites.
Results: Different parasites had been detected form the two MWTPs such as protozoan (oo)cysts and helminth ova, where protozoa; Entamoeba spp., Giardia, and Toxoplasma (oo)cysts, and hookworms, pinworms and whipworm; Ascaris, Enterobius, Strongyloides, and cestodes; Echinococcus and Hymenolepis were extracted. Protozoan (oo)cyst and helminths ova L-1 of raw wastewater ranged from 14-82 and from 11-38, respectively, while in the treated wastewater ranged from 2-12 and form 0-4, respectively. The data exhibited that the highest count was Entamoeba histolytica cysts of 82 L-1 (23.7%) followed by Entamoeba coli cysts of 78 L-1 (22.54%), while the least count L-1 was exhibited by Enterobius vermicularis ova of 1 L-1 (0.29%). The removal efficiencies of protozoan (oo)cyst and helminths ova by MWTPs was about 90%.
Conclusion: The finding in the current study revealed that the efficacy of removal of total parasitic profile in the final effluent of Kirkuk’s municipal wastewater treatment plants, is in compliance with the recommendation of Iraqi and WHO parasitological guideline required for unrestricted farmlands’ irrigation.

How to cite this article:
Barzinji A K R A. Parasitological Evaluation of the Purifying Performance of Wastewater Treatment Plants in Kirkuk, Iraq. J Commun Dis. 2023;55(4): 14-22.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.24321/0019.5138.202348

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