Destruction of fecal coliphages during the composting process of porcine feces

Abstract

Application of sewage sludge to agricultural land has been a common practice for many years. There is, however, a potential hazard of pathogen spread through food and drinking water, since the pathogens concentrate in the sludge (JONES and WATKINS 1985; SHIMOHARA et al. 1985) and remain in the sludge for a long period of time (TIERNEY 1977). Anaerobic digestion of sludge destroys the indigenous pathogens owe to the high temperature generated by the microbial activity in the course of digestion (BERG and BERMAN 1980). However viruses have been recovered from sludges digested during a prolonged period of time at 37 or 50°C (LUND 1976). Anaerobic digestion of sludge is associated with health risks caused by virus spread.

Key Words:

• coliphage
• sludge composting.