An optimized hollow-fiber ultrafiltration system (50 000 MWCO) was developed to concentrate Cryptosporidium oocysts from 10-L samples of environmental water. Seeded experiments were conducted using a number of surface-water samples from the southwestern U.S.A. and source water from four water districts with histories of poor oocyst recovery. Ultrafiltration produced a mean recovery of 47.9% from 19 water samples (55.3% from 39 individual tests). We also compared oocyst recoveries using the hollow-fiber ultrafiltration system with those using the Envirochek filter. In limited comparison tests, the hollow-fiber ultrafiltration system produced recoveries similar to those of the Envirochek filter (hollow fiber, 74.1% (SD = 2.8); Envirochek, 71.9% (SD = 5.2)) in low-turbidity (3.9 NTU) samples and performed better than the Envirochek filter in high-turbidity (159.0 NTU) samples (hollow fiber, 27.5%; Envirochek, 0.4%). These results indicate that hollow-fiber ultrafiltration can efficiently recover oocysts from a wide variety of surface waters and may be a cost-effective alternative for concentrating Cryptosporidium from water, given the reusable nature of the filter.

Fecal samples were taken from wild ducks on the lower Rio Grande River around Las Cruces, N. Mex., from September 2000 to January 2001. Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts were purified from 69 samples by sucrose enrichment followed by cesium chloride (CsCl) gradient centrifugation and were viewed via fluorescent-antibody (FA) staining. For some samples, recovered cysts and oocysts were further screened via PCR to determine the presence of Giardia lamblia and Crytosporidium parvum. The results of this study indicate that 49% of the ducks were carriers of Cryptosporidium, and the Cryptosporidium oocyst concentrations ranged from 0 to 2,182 oocysts per g of feces (mean ؎ standard deviation, 47.53 ؎ 270.3 oocysts per g); also, 28% of the ducks were positive for Giardia, and the Giardia cyst concentrations ranged from 0 to 29,293 cysts per g of feces (mean ؎ standard deviation, 436 ؎ 3,525.4 cysts per g). Of the 69 samples, only 14 had (oo)cyst concentrations that were above the PCR detection limit. Samples did test positive for Cryptosporidium sp. However, C. parvum and G. lamblia were not detected in any of the 14 samples tested by PCR. Ducks on their southern migration through southern New Mexico were positive for Cryptosporidium and Giardia as determined by FA staining, but C. parvum and G. lamblia were not detected.Cryptosporidium and Giardia are enteric parasites that infect a wide range of vertebrate hosts, including birds and mammals. Cryptosporidium parvum and Giardia lamblia are the most common pathogenic species of these parasites in humans. In humans, these organisms can cause persistent diarrhea for 1 to 3 weeks. One of the most common modes of transmission is consumption of feces-contaminated water (17,25,34). It is estimated that 80 to 96% of surface waters in the United States are contaminated with Cryptosporidium and Giardia (16,29).

In this study, we examined the effect that magnetic materials and pH have on the recoveries of Cryptosporidium oocysts by immunomagnetic separation (IMS). We determined that particles that were concentrated on a magnet during bead separation have no influence on oocyst recovery; however, removal of these particles did influence pH values. The optimal pH of the IMS was determined to be 7.0. The numbers of oocysts recovered from deionized water at pH 7.0 were 26.3% higher than those recovered from samples that were not at optimal pH. The results indicate that the buffers in the IMS kit did not adequately maintain an optimum pH in some water samples. By adjusting the pH of concentrated environmental water samples to 7.0, recoveries of oocysts increased by 26.4% compared to recoveries from samples where the pH was not adjusted.The ability of immunomagnetic separation (IMS) to separate Cryptosporidium oocysts from sediments in concentrated samples is better than that of Percoll-sucrose flotation. Oocyst recoveries by Percoll-sucrose flotation of 10 to 96% have been observed when various sediment matrices originating from environmental water samples were spiked with oocysts (1, 6). IMS has shown more-consistent recovery efficiencies and has produced more-reproducible recoveries from higher-turbidity matrices than has flotation (3, 4). Although IMS has marked advantages over flotation methods, variation in IMS results or recovery efficiency by U.S. Environmental Protection Agency method 1622 has been observed with some environmental samples (1, 2, 5, 9, 10).The objectives of this study were to identify characteristics of resuspended packed pellets from concentrated water samples that adversely affect the recovery efficiency of a commercially available IMS system and develop modifications of the IMS methodology that would provide greater efficiency and consistency in oocyst recovery. The two IMS variables that were examined were the possible interference of iron-like materials (sediments that bind to magnets) and the effect of pH on the efficiency of oocyst capture during the IMS process.

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Two hundred homes with a history of water incursion were sampled for fungi to determine the prevalence and airborne spore levels of Stachybotrys spp. Sampling methods included room air, surface, and wall cavity air sampling. Stachybotrys spp. were detected with at least one of the methods in 58.5% of the houses tested, but only 9.6% of the room air samples contained Stachybotrys spores. Aerosolization of Stachybotrys spores was correlated with both wall cavity and surface contamination. However, after adjustment for the surface effect, Stachybotrys spores detected in wall cavities were not a significant factor contributing to spores detected in room air samples. We conclude that Stachybotrys spp. are commonly found on water-damaged building materials. In addition, the observations made in this study suggest that the impact on the living space air is low if the fungal spores are contained within a wall cavity.

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