Effectiveness of ceramic filters in capturing Giardia duodenalis cysts in experimentally contaminated water

Abstract

Giardia duodenalis is the main water-transmitted protozoan in developing countries. This study evaluated the effectiveness of ceramic filters in capturing G. duodenalis cysts and verified the porosity size needed to remove cysts from contaminated water. The study was conducted in the Laboratory of Parasitology at the University of Taubaté, where each filter unit was made by joining two Pet gallons, latex hose and a ceramic filter. Two porosity sizes were selected: 0.5-1.0 μm and 5-15 μm with or without activated carbon, and the assays were run in triplicate. Approximately 60 μL (53 cysts) of G. duodenalis cysts were placed in 2 liters of distilled water. After the preparation of the contaminated water, this solution was run through the filter until the completely filtered. Afterwards, the filtrate was processed according to the methodology described by De Faria (2008), in order to concentrate parasitic elements. The results were statistically evaluated using ANOVA and Tukey tests, showing that the 0.5- 1,0 μm porosity filter candles (with and without activated carbon) were able to retain 100% of cysts of G. duodenalis. This is a result significantly superior to the results obtained in the control group (p<0.05). On the other hand, for the candles with porosity of 5-15 μm, total retention occurred only in candles with activated carbon. Based upon our results, it can be concluded that, in candles with both porosity sizes with activated carbon, all filters showed a satisfactory efficacy for filtration of G. duodenalis cysts.

Keywords:
consumption of water; protozoan; water purification.