University of South Florida Scholar Commons Graduate Theses and Dissertations Graduate School 11-10-2010 Inactivation of Ascaris suum by Ammonia in Feces Simulating the Physical-Chemical Parameters of the Solar Toilet Under Laboratory Conditions Ligia Maria Cruz Espinoza University of South Florida Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd Part of the American Studies Commons, Public Health Commons, and the Public Policy Commons Scholar Commons Citation Cruz Espinoza, Ligia Maria, "Inactivation of Ascaris suum by Ammonia in Feces Simulating the Physical- Chemical Parameters of the Solar Toilet Under Laboratory Conditions" (2010). Graduate Theses and Dissertations. https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/etd/3494 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at Scholar Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Scholar Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Inactivation of Ascaris suum by Ammonia in Feces Simulating the Physical- Chemical Parameters of the Solar Toilet under Laboratory Conditions by Ligia María Cruz Espinoza A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Global Health College of Public Health University of South Florida Major Professor: Ricardo Izurieta, M.D., Dr.P.H. Boo Kwa, Ph.D. Azliyati Azizan, Ph.D. Jaime Corvin, Ph.D. Linda Whiteford, Ph.D. Daniel Yeh, Ph.D. Date of Approval: November 10, 2010 Keywords: Ascaris, inactivation, urea, ammonia, feces, solar toilet Copyright © 2010, Ligia María Cruz Espinoza DEDICATION I dedicate this Doctoral dissertation to my loving Mom, Dr. Ligia Espinoza Aguirre, for instilling the importance of hard work, tenacity and higher education. There is no doubt in my mind that without her continued support and counsel I could not have completed this process. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First and foremost I thank GOD for arranging all the circumstances of my life in such a way that I could meet the wonderful professors, advisors, co- workers, and friends that have made unique and important contributions to the achievement of this goal. I want to solemnly express my deep gratitude to my major professor, Dr. Ricardo Izurieta, who offered me knowledge and support through-out my entire academic program and research. I thank my committee members and Dr. Bjorn Vinneras for their insight and guidance. I would also like to thank Dr. Lakshminarayan Rajaram for his assistance in data management and statistical analysis. I acknowledge the support provided by the entire Department of Global Health: they created the working conditions that were essential to the accomplishment of this goal. Very special thanks to my colleagues who helped me in the lab. My dearest friend and roommate Ellen McCreedy, she was always there supporting and cheering me up and stood by me through the good and bad times. I will always appreciate her many hours of proofreading and her belief in me. My boyfriend Max J. Moreno, I am grateful for his encouragement, understanding, patience and love in the past few years. Most importantly, I thank my family, for their faith in me and allowing me to be as ambitious as I wanted. It was under their watchful eye that I gained so much drive and an ability to tackle challenges head on. TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................. iv LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................... vi ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................ viii CHAPTER 1. INTRODCUTION ............................................................................. 1 1.1 Purpose of the Study ........................................................................... 1 1.2 Hypothesis ........................................................................................... 4 1.3 Main Objective ..................................................................................... 4 1.4 Specific Objectives............................................................................... 4 1.5 Research Question .............................................................................. 5 CHAPTER 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................... 6 2.1 Sanitation and Health ........................................................................... 6 2.1.1 Millennium Development Goals and target ten ....................... 7 2.1.2 Influence of sanitation in other MDGs .................................. 11 2.1.3 Monetary benefits of improved sanitation ............................. 13 2.1.4 Effects of sanitation in health ............................................... 13 2.1.4.1 Diarrhea .................................................................. 15 2.1.4.2 Schistosomiasis and soil-transmitted helminthes .............................................................. 16 2.2 Excreta and Pathogens ...................................................................... 18 2.2.1 Characteristics of excreta ..................................................... 18 2.2.2 Types of pathogen in feces .................................................. 18 2.2.2.1 Bacteria .................................................................. 19 2.2.2.2 Viruses ................................................................... 28 2.2.2.3 Protozoa ................................................................. 34 2.2.2.4 Helminthes ............................................................. 38 2.2.3 Categories of excreta related pathogens.............................. 44 2.2.4 Pathogen survival ................................................................. 47 2.2.4.1 Survival in feces and soil ........................................ 47 2.2.4.2 Indicators of fecal contamination ............................ 48 2.3 Sanitation Systems ............................................................................ 50 2.3.1 General description of waterless system with urine diversion ..................................................................... 51 2.3.2 Urine dry diverting toilet and Eco-san .................................. 55 2.3.3 Solar toilet prototype IV ........................................................ 58 2.3.4 Sustainable sanitation systems ............................................ 61 i 2.3.5 Description of the community using the solar toilet .............. 63 2.4 Ammonia ............................................................................................ 66 2.4.1 Urea as a source of ammonia .............................................. 67 2.4.2 Ammonia chemistry in water ................................................ 69 2.4.3 Ammonia in wastewater ....................................................... 71 2.4.4 Ammonia in human feces ..................................................... 73 2.4.5 Ammonia toxicity .................................................................. 74 2.4.5.1 Ammonia toxicity to fecal bacteria .......................... 77 2.4.5.2 Ammonia toxicity to viruses .................................... 81 2.4.5.3 Ammonia toxicity to helminthes .............................. 87 CHAPTER 3. MORPHOLOGICAL CHANGES OF ASCARIS SPP. OVA DURING ITS DEVELOPMENT OUT OF THE HUMAN HOST ...... 94 3.1 Abstract .............................................................................................. 94 3.2 Introduction ........................................................................................ 96 3.3 Materials and Method ........................................................................ 98 3.4 Results ............................................................................................. 100 3.4.1 Stages of development....................................................... 100 3.4.2 Viability ............................................................................... 104 3.5 Discussion ....................................................................................... 105 3.5.1 Development stages .......................................................... 105 3.5.2 Speed of development ....................................................... 106 3.5.3 Larva motility induction ....................................................... 108 3.5.4 Viability ............................................................................... 109 3.6 Conclusion ....................................................................................... 110 CHAPTER 4. INACTIVATION OF ASCARIS SUUM OVA BY AMMONIA IN WATER SOLUTION UNDER LABORATORY CONDITIONS ..... 112 4.1 Abstract ............................................................................................ 112 4.2 Introduction ...................................................................................... 114 4.3 Methods ........................................................................................... 116 4.3.1 Materials............................................................................. 116 4.3.2 Experiment set up .............................................................. 117 4.3.3 Statistical analysis .............................................................. 119 4.4 Results ............................................................................................. 120 4.4.1 Monitoring ammonia