Who isolated first microorganisms from seawater and well water?
Answers
I isolate marine organisms in the 10-200 um size range that I have collected using a 20 um plankton net. I then use a drawn mouth pipet (made by heating the tip of a Pasteur pipet and gently drawing it out to a fine point w/ forceps, then break the tip to the appropriately-sized opening) attached to tubing which is then used to suck the organisms up. The organisms are then placed in cell wells with filtered seawater (FSW) of the same salinity as the water they were collected from. If the organisms are heterotrophic, add food such as Isochrysis or Rhodomonas, then incubate for several days. Sometimes you have to try different foods to get them to grow. If the organism is an autotroph, then use F/2 medium instead of FSW. Good luck!
Many people struggle to obtain access to safe water. A clean and treated water supply to each house may be the norm in Europe and North America, but in developing countries, access to both clean water and sanitation are not the rule, and waterborne infections are common. Two and a half billion people have no access to improved sanitation, and more than 1.5 million children die each year from diarrheal diseases. According to the WHO, the mortality of water associated diseases exceeds 5 million people per year. From these, more that 50% are microbial intestinal infections, with cholera standing out in the first place.
In general terms, the greatest microbial risks are associated with ingestion of water that is contaminated with human or animal feces. Wastewater discharges in fresh waters and costal seawaters are the major source of fecal microorganisms, including pathogens.
Acute microbial diarrheal diseases are a major public health problem in developing countries. People affected by diarrheal diseases are those with the lowest financial resources and poorest hygienic facilities. Children under five, primarily in Asian and African countries, are the most affected by microbial diseases transmitted through water.
Microbial waterborne diseases also affect developed countries. In the USA, it has been estimated that each year 560,000 people suffer from severe waterborne diseases, and 7.1 million suffer from a mild to moderate infections, resulting in estimated 12,000 deaths a year.