NR AXUF
AU Pedersen,J.; Hinckley,G.T.; McMahon,K.; McKenzie,D.; Aiken,J.M.
TI Survival of PrPsc during Simulated Wastewater Treatment Processes
QU International Conference - Prion 2007 (26.-28.9.2007) Edinburgh International Conference Centre, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK - Book of Abstracts: Epidemiology, Risk Assessment and Transmission P04.61
IA http://www.prion2007.com/pdf/Prion Book of Abstracts.pdf
PT Konferenz-Poster
AB Concern has been expressed that prions could enter wastewater treatment systems through sewer and/or septic systems (e.g., necropsy laboratories, rural meat processors, private game dressing) or through leachate from landfills that have received TSE-contaminated material. Prions are highly resistant to degradation and many disinfection procedures raising concern that they could survive conventional wastewater treatment. Here, we report the results of experiments examining the partitioning and survival of PrPsc during simulated wastewater treatment processes including activated and mesophilic anaerobic sludge digestion. We establish that PrPsc can be efficiently extracted from activated and anaerobic digester sludges with 1% sodium dodecyl sulfate, 10% sodium undecyl sulfate, and 1% sodium N-lauryl sarcosinate. Activated sludge digestion does not result in significant degradation of PrPsc. The protein partitions strongly to the activated sludge solids and is expected to enter biosolids treatment processes. A large fraction of PrPsc survived simulated mesophilic anaerobic sludge digestion. Our results suggest that if prions were to enter municipal waste water treatment systems, most of the agent would partition to activated sludge solids, survive mesophilic anaerobic digestion, and be present in treated biosolids. Land application of biosolids containing prions could represent a route for their unintentional introduction into the environment. Our results argue for excluding inputs of prions to municipal wastewater treatment facilities that would result in unacceptable risk of prion disease transmission via contaminated biosolids.
AD J. Pedersen, G. Hinckley, University of Wisconsin, Soil Science/Civil and Environmental Engineering, USA; K. McMahon, University of Wisconsin, Civil and Environmental Engineering, USA; D. McKenzie, J.M. Aiken, University of Wisconsin, Comparative Biosciences, USA
SP englisch
PO Schottland
EA pdf-Datei und Poster (Posterautoren: G.T. Hinckley, C.J. Johnson, K.H. Jacobson, C. Bartholomay, D.I. McKenzie, J.M. Aiken, K. McMahon und J.A. Pedersen; Postertitel: Persistence of pathogenic prion protein during simulated wastewater treatment processes)