Water Online the Magazine gives Water & Wastewater Engineers and end-users a venue to find project solutions and source valuable product information. We aim to educate the engineering and operations community on important issues and trends.
Issue link: http://wateronline.epubxp.com/i/212760
Feature Meanwhile, the same UMD study revealed that 83 percent of the raw sewage samples coming into the plant contained MRSA, giving indication of its prevalence in sewers. What distinguishes MRSA from most other infections is its antibiotic resistance. Unfortunately, that may not be an exceptional trait for long. Resistance to the antibiotic vancomycin has risen dramatically in U.S. hospital intensive care units. Stronger Viruses, Weaker Medicine As previously mentioned, bacteria split, grow, and form new bacteria. The characteristics of each are continually swapped around, and one such characteristic is antibiotic resistance. In what amounts to survival-of-the-fittest evolution, "superbugs" are created, and antibiotics render diminishing returns. A worst-case scenario paints a grim picture for public health in general — and it has not gone unnoticed by the World Health Organization or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) — but it is especially significant for sewer workers who are at much higher exposure levels and greater risk to bacterial infections and illnesses. TJ Suiter, a former wastewater worker who now designs safety equipment for the profession, shared with me some stories he gathered during a 10-city tour doing field research for his safety systems. True to what the studies suggest, he encountered two cases of hepatitis and a case of MRSA among the workers he met. Suiter also described two separate incidents where workers suffered cuts — one while working on a lift station, the other in a manhole — and contracted meningitis and cellulitis, respectively. The former is out on lifetime disability, while the latter "was one day away from an amputation." Both were saved by antibiotics. Current trends dictate, however, that these same antibiotics will soon be obsolete. Not only are antibiotics on the whole becoming decreasingly effective, but they are also being approved at a decreasing rate (see Figure 1). Even vancomycin, which is considered an antibiotic of last resort for the treatment of numerous bacterial infections, has lost much of its efficacy — a problem the CDC labels as a serious threat to public health.5 How Employees Can Protect Themselves The perfect storm of factors conspiring against the health of sewer workers is no doubt distressing, especially since there is little to nothing individual workers can do to reverse the course of the negative trends themselves. The daunting task of keeping medicine a step ahead of evolving strains of bacteria will be one for the science and medical communities to share. In the meantime, there are immediate actions workers can take to better protect themselves. The number-one defense is still simple hygiene. But simple doesn't necessarily mean typical. While rubber gloves, boots, and protective clothing are thankfully commonplace, safety glasses apparently are not. "It's very rare, frankly, to see workers wearing glasses," says Suiter, who has been watching workers in the field for more than 25 years. This particular oversight — or style choice, if that's the case — is a risky proposition. Suiter explains why: "Your eyeball is a perfect environment for viruses and bacteria to enter your body, simply because it's a moist, wet, and warm environment where liquid New Antibiotic Drug Approvals Figure 1. Dramatic Decrease In Antibiotic Drug Approvals Years Antibiotic development is dwindling.4 wateronline.com ■ Water Online The Magazine 9