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Latest Results on Water and Health case study (Thailand)

This case study addresses health impacts of waste and water resources management at the provincial and municipality levels in Thailand (Ayutthaya).. It is contributing to a better inter-sectoral management of water and waste for communities and at a provincial level.

In 2016, several researches have been done in the framework of this case study in order to assess the risk of bio-physical contamination due to poor coordination in waste management at the municipality and provincial level. These results will feed the participatory process involving provincial and municipal stakeholders and aiming at the improvement of cross-sectorial collaboration in a One health perspective. Feedback meetings have already been organised with local stakeholders, the last one was in November 2016.

The main results of 2016 studies are listed here below:

  • Assessment of zoonotic bacterial contamination in wastewater & soil from small holder pig farms (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University)
  • Assessment of fungal burden in contaminated water & soil from livestock excreta, a potential risk to immunocompromised population (Faculty of Tropical Medicine, Mahidol University)
  • Assessment of pollution status of landfill in Chiang Rak Noi Municipality, Ayutthaya Province (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kasetsart University)
  • Human health hot spot and risk area assessment surrounding communities from landfill in Chiang Rak Noi Municipality, Ayutthaya Province (Faculty of Environment and Resource Studies, Mahidol University)

The zoonotic bacterial analysis, done so far, demonstrated the presence of Escherichia coli and strains of streptococcus in the faeces, floor swabs and water of house sewage, farm sewage and cesspool from the 3 pig farms analysed. Salmonella strains were also found in the cesspool of every farm.

The assessment of pollution was done by collecting samples from 6 different landfills. It established the presence of heavy metal (Fe, Mg, Al) in every landfill analysed, the presence of Salmonella in 4 of them and Clostridium Perfringens in 2 of them. The water from these landfills was characterized by a contamination with Coliforms bacteria and a high level (but not above the recommended limit) of iron (Fe).

The study of risk area for solid waste landfill or open dumb in Ayutthaya province combined the data from flood’s frequency, distance from residential area, soil drainage, distance from water body streams and wells, and the position of the main cities. It determined that 84% (2138,44 km2) of the Ayutthaya province are risk areas to set a waste landfill.

For more information about all the results, see regional workshop’s power point presentations through this link or the website page.