Evidence map›Paper›PMID 30574474›Full record

ReviewFrontiers in public health2018

Epidemiological Evidence and Health Risks Associated With Agricultural Reuse of Partially Treated and Untreated Wastewater: A Review.

Anthony A Adegoke, Isaac D Amoah, Thor A Stenström, Matthew E Verbyla, James R Mihelcic

Open access · goldAbstract readReview
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Review in Frontiers in public health, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
32citing papers in PubMed, 1 pooled it
9.1field-weighted citation impact, top 2% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

32 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 170 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Article
  3. Review
  4. Chlorine-UV hybrid disinfection: a review on mechanisms and efficiency towards emerging pollutants.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2026
    Review
  5. Article
  6. Article
  7. Article
  8. Article
  9. Review
  10. Review
  11. Megatrends and emerging issues: Impacts on food safety.Comprehensive reviews in food science and food safety · 2025
    Review
  12. The Invisible Threat of Antibiotic Resistance in Food.Antibiotics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025
    Review
  13. Review
  14. Review
  15. Review
  16. Article
  17. Article
  18. Article
  19. Article
  20. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

5 authors at 4 institutions in 3 countries.

Anthony A AdegokeSARChI, Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa.
Isaac D AmoahSARChI, Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa.
Thor A StenströmSARChI, Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, Durban, South Africa.
Matthew E VerbylaDepartment of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering, San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, United States.
James R MihelcicDepartment of Civil & Environmental Engineering, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, United States.
Durban University of Technology · ZASan Diego State University · USUniversity of South Florida · USUniversity of Uyo · NG

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

The use of partially treated and untreated wastewater for irrigation is beneficial in agriculture but may be associated with human health risks. Reports from different locations globally have linked microbial outbreaks with agricultural reuse of wastewater. This article reviews the epidemiological evidence and health risks associated with this practice, aiming toward evidence-based conclusions. Exposure pathways that were addressed in this review included those relevant to agricultural workers and their families, consumers of crops, and residents close to areas irrigated with wastewater (partially treated or untreated). A meta-analysis gave an overall odds ratio of 1.65 (95% CI: 1.31, 2.06) for diarrheal disease and 5.49 (95% CI: 2.49, 12.10) for helminth infections for exposed agricultural workers and family members. The risks were higher among children and immunocompromised individuals than in immunocompetent adults. Predominantly skin and intestinal infections were prevalent among individuals infected mainly via occupational exposure and ingestion. Food-borne outbreaks as a result of crops (fruits and vegetables) irrigated with partially or untreated wastewater have been widely reported. Contamination of crops with enteric viruses, fecal coliforms, and bacterial pathogens, parasites including soil-transmitted helminthes (STHs), as well as occurrence of antibiotic residues and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have also been evidenced. The antibiotic residues and ARGs may get internalized in crops along with pathogens and may select for antibiotic resistance, exert ecotoxicity, and lead to bioaccumulation in aquatic organisms with high risk quotient (RQ). Appropriate mitigation lies in adhering to existing guidelines such as the World Health Organization wastewater reuse guidelines and to Sanitation Safety Plans (SSPs). Additionally, improvement in hygiene practices will also provide measures against adverse health impacts.

Indexed as

antibioticsepidemicsepidemiological evidenceexposurehealth riskpathogenswastewater reuse

Identifiers

PMID30574474
PMCPMC6292135
OpenAlexW2904232570

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.