[Digestion] C. botulinum

Andrew James Ward andrew.ward at adelaide.edu.au
Mon Feb 21 00:06:01 CST 2011


this article may be off interest
Water Research
Volume 43, Issue 13, July 2009, Pages 3281-3291
Influence of high gas production during thermophilic anaerobic digestion in
pilot-scale and lab-scale reactors on survival of the thermotolerant pathogens
Clostridium perfringens and Campylobacter jejuni in piggery wastewater
L.C. Skillmana, , , O. Bajsab, L. Hob, B. Santhanamc, M. Kumarc and G. Hob


Cheers
> > Andrew Ward

> > School of Chemical Engineering
> > The University of Adelaide, Australia 5005
> > Room NM10 Engineering north
> > laboratory NG15(Biochemical and Fermentation Lab)

> > Phone: +61 8 83133150
> > Fax:   +61 8 8303 4373
> > Mobile: 0410 389 528
> >
> > E-mail: andrew.ward at adelaide.edu.au


Quoting Paul Harris <paul.harris at adelaide.edu.au>:

> G’day All,
>
>
>
> I was sent the item below from another discussion group and have permission
> to disseminate it here – it may help in the thinking about “Negative Press”.
>
>
>
> Happy Digesting,
>
> HOOROO
>
>
>
> Mr. Paul Harris, Room S116b, Waite Main Building Faculty of Sciences, The
> University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, PMB 1, Glen Osmond SA 5064 Ph    : +61
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> On Sun, Feb 6, 2011 at 5:48 AM, heinzpetermang
> <heinz-peter at worldtoiletcollege.org> wrote:
>
> Dear all,
>
> I followed the discussion with great interest, and I am really surprised
> about a non-proofed sentence from Prof. Ralph Otterpohl as:
>
> "This makes biogas plants a clear risk technology for a very very severe
> illness."
>
> This discussion has already happened in the Biogas Scene between 2004 and
> 2009, and again inside GIZ initiated by Prof. Helge Boehnel in 2006, and
> again in 2008.
>
> Prof. Monika Krueger (University of Leipzig) and Prof. Helge Boehnel
> (University of Goettingen) are publishing since 10 years in various articles
> the opinion that fermentation residues from biogas plants present a
> significant hazard potential; poisoning of animals and humans may be caused
> by the toxins of C. perfringens and C. botulinum. In particular, C.
> botulinum is known for the formation of toxic poison under certain
> circumstances (botulism). Both scientists recommend the permanent control of
> the digestate for the presence of pathogenic organisms, especially since
> these also are generated by the multiplication of bacteria during
> fermentation and storage of the digestate.
>
> But C. botulinum is part of the soil degradation process bacteria. During
> each anaerobic degradation process of organic material, amino acids are
> degraded pairwise by Clostridium botulinum (BOTOX) using the "Stickland
> reaction" in which one amino acid serves as a hydrogen donor and the other
> as acceptor, resulting in acetate, ammonia, and CO2. During the splitting of
> cysteine, hydrogen sulphide is released.
>
> 1988: Already in September 1988, in the "Design Manual for Constructed
> Wetlands and Aquatic Plant Systems for Municipal Wastewater Treatment" of
> the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency it is written that "Wildlife may be
> affected by wetlands systems because anaerobic muds may contain the
> causative organism of avian botulism (Clostridium botulinum). Control of
> this wildlife pathogen can be accomplished largely by multiple dispersion
> points for free water surface (FWS) wetlands. This pathogen is not a problem
> for wild fowl in subsurface flow system (SFS) wetlands or aquatic plant
> systems."
>
> Does this make FWS wetlands a clear risk technology for a very very severe
> illness?
>
> 2002: In the UK-Risk Assessment: Use of Composting and Biogas Treatment to
> Dispose of Catering Waste Containing Meat, of the Department for
> Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, from May 2002, is recommended that a
> warning label is put on bio-waste compost sold for home use to ensure
> infants under 6 months are kept away, even they found that the "estimated"
> spore loading in compost is lower than for some soils in The Netherlands."
>
> Does this make composting a clear risk technology for a very very severe
> illness?
>
> 2006: In the IWAS Journal Water Health 04 (2006) 277-288,
> http://www.iwaponline.com/jwh/004/0277/0040277.pdf an article about
> "Watershed issues associated with Clostridium botulinum: A literature
> review", from Sharon C. Long and Tiffany Tauscher, reviewed aspects of
> naturally occurring C. botulinum in light of concerns for source water
> watersheds. C. botulinum has been detected in raw water storage areas, trout
> farms, fish and environmental samples from coastal area, dust, wetland
> sediments and other sources. A number of incidents of detection of the
> different types of C. botulinum in varying environments around the globe are
> analysed. Soils and dusts have often been cited as a significant reservoir
> of C. botulinum. Serious outbreaks of botulism have occurred in beef cattle
> that were fed chicken litter. In The Netherlands, botulism has occurred in
> cattle that were fed wet brewer's grains. In another case C. botulinum type
> spores were found in bales of round bale barley haylage that were fed to
> cattle. Haylage harvested green and encased in black plastic bags to
> facilitate lacto-fermentation, was presumably contaminated by the botulinum
> toxin when fermentation failed to produce enough acid to lower the pH to
> 4.5, the pH below which C. botulinum growth is inhibited. Thus, hay
> fermentation presents a potential problem for farmers who use round hay
> balers to produce haylage.
>
> Does this make haylage in round plastic packed bales a clear risk technology
> for a very very severe illness?
>
> 2009: In the « Evaluation du programme latrine Medair à Madagascar », August
> 2009, WASTE NL and Practica Foundation, C. botulinum have been identified in
> the faeces of urine diversion toilets as part of the GRAM-positive bacteria
> package.
>
> Does this make UDDTs a clear risk technology for a very very severe illness?
>
> When canning food it is important to completely control the botulinum
> bacteria, because if these bacteria survive and grow inside a sealed jar of
> food, they can produce the poisonous toxin. Even tasting of food containing
> this toxin can be fatal. Whether food should be processed in a pressure
> canner or boiling water canner depends on the acidity of the food. Acidity
> may be natural, as in most fruits, or added. Low-acid (pH>4.6) canned foods
> contain too little acidity to prevent the growth of the botulinum bacteria,
> while acid foods (pH<4.6) contain enough acid to block their growth or
> destroy them more rapidly when heated. Fruits are acid foods, but vegetables
> are not. Therefore they should be acidified with lemon juice, citric acid or
> vinegar. If low acid foods are not acidified, the processing in boiling
> water is not recommended.
>
> Does this make canned fruits a clear risk technology for a very very severe
> illness?
>
> Already based on German research data collected before November 2005 it
> could be stated that no cross-contamination of botulism from infected
> animals through digestate to animal fodder was detected in Germany. Also the
> German Federal Institute for Risk Assessment (BfR) published in a statement
> the fact that the occurrence of symptoms caused 'visceral botulism' by the
> interaction of 4 important factors is determined:
>
> 1. Clostridiums are increased in the environment by over-fertilization with
> manure or poultry litter
>
> 2. Increased incidence of the disease in high-yielding cattle with unstable
> immune system
>
> 3. Poor nutrition of high-yielding cattle (rarely ruminant fair, too low
> fibre content)
>
> 4. Poor feeding hygiene (poor hygienic quality of silage, etc.)
>
> In addition, the department "cattle diseases" of the German Veterinary
> Society (DVG) published in a statement already 2006 the fact that C.
> botulinum is almost everywhere common, and could be occasionally
> demonstrated in the gastrointestinal tract of completely healthy cattle. The
> clinical pictures of the "visceral Botulismus" could also be caused by many
> other factors than by C. botulinum, namely unfavourable feeding and housing
> conditions, metabolic disorders or other infectious diseases.
>
> Industrially processed, vacuum-packaged, hotsmoked salmanoids have been
> responsible for a cluster of outbreaks in northern Europe. The consumers'
> demand for reduced use of sodium salts and the vacuum packaging used to
> prolong shelf lives have apparently created high-risk botulinogenic products
> that are largely dependent on refrigeration for safety.
>
> It appears that C. botulinum spores naturally occur in soils and sediments
> with specific strains predominating in different geographical regions.
> However, considering current source water protection practices in the U.S.,
> threats of waterborne botulism outbreaks among human populations is low.
> Threats of forage botulism can be minimized by education of farmers
> regarding hay and feed management practices. Threats to source waters from
> wildlife outbreaks can be minimized by proper detection and carcass
> management when avian and fish outbreaks occur. Conventional treatment
> processes have been demonstrated to be adequately effective at removing
> Clostridium spores from drinking water.
>
> IRDCurrents No.13 and 14 from July 1997, edited by the Department of Rural
> Development Studies of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences in
> UPPSALA, and financed by Sida (Swedish International Development Cooperation
> Agency) published by René Sansoucy on page 8: "Biodigestion has positive
> public health aspects, particularly where toilets are coupled with the
> biodigester, and the anaerobic conditions kill pathogenic organisms as well
> as digesting toxins, for example, botulinum toxin."
>
> Research work about "Biotic and abiotic components from effluents of
> anaerobic plants with a potential risks for water protection areas",
> published in February 2010 by Dr. W. Philipp, Institut für Umwelt- und
> Tierhygiene, Universität Hohenheim, Stuttgart shows that anaerobic digestion
> does not increase, but reduce usually accomplished by good anaerobic process
> management. This finding is not, however directly for C. botulinum, because
> C. perfringens has been used for the test, and C. botulinum may be
> different.
>
> The Federal Agricultural Research Centre under the leadership of Prof.
> Weiland conducted appropriate investigations in June 2007 on C. botulinum in
> substrates and fermentation residues of biogas plants: The data do not
> indicate any increase in pathogen load in digestate. During the fermentation
> no pathogenic clostridia or close relatives of the C. could be characterized
> as C. botulinum. Also during the fermentation of cattle manure in biogas
> plants, the amount of available clostridia had been reduced. (Published from
> the German Biogas Association in May 2010: "Informationen über Clostridium
> botulinum")
>
> Of course for precautionary reasons, the concentration of C. botulinum in
> the environment should not be increased. Therefore it would be appropriate
> to conduct quantitative research in bio-compost, faecal compost, dry faeces,
> and digestate in connection with investigations of the impacted soil to
> determine a possible longer-term increase of concentration in the soil. Also
> interesting would be the possible survival of C. botulinum spores on
> grassland after application with naturally contaminated compost and / or
> fermentation residues and their possible transition to the plants in
> experience.
>
> As long as potentially contaminated feedstock is crushed and heated to
> 133°C/3bar/20 one can be sure that C. botulinum spores are not surviving the
> composting or anaerobic reactor, and thus the discussion of possible high
> swings in biogas would be obsolete. Critical substrates are mainly chicken
> manure and chicken litter.
>
> Summarizing it should be clearly stated that the discussion about C.
> botulinum in Germany and the EU is pushed to a political level by some
> circles, but the recycling of organic waste and other bio-degradable waste
> materials will not be stopped, at least not in foreseeable future.
>
> Heinz-Peter Mang, University of Science and Technology Beijing, Centre for
> Sustainable Environmental Sanitation
>
>
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