The ESHH lab aims to quantify the survival, persistence, and distribution of pathogenic viruses, bacteria and protozoa in the environment, including in water, sediment, soil, faeces, and vegetation, that are harmful to humans. This is used to:
- Understand exposure routes
- Develop risk assessments
- Design guidelines and tools for environmental management
The Human Pathogens in the Environment research portfolio falls within a broader remit of environmental pollutant studies.
Researchers
Professor Richard Quilliam
Professor of Environment and Health
Dr David Oliver
Associate Professor
Dr Heather Price
Lecturer
Dr Vanessa Moresco
Postdoctoral researcher
Isobel Swinscoe
PhD Student
Sarah Buckerfield
PhD Student
Claire Paton
PhD Student
Jonathan Fletcher
PhD Student
Heather Purshouse
PhD Student
Emmanuel Afolabi
PhD Student
Natalie Boyd Williams
PhD Student
Projects
Microbial hitch-hikers of marine plastics: the survival, persistence and ecology of microbial communities in the ‘Plastisphere’’ (£1.85m; NERC; PI Professor Richard Quilliam)
Optimising multi-pollutant phytoremediation strategies to sustainably improve raw water quality
Opportunities and barriers for recovering value from faecal sludge in African cities
The role of human excreta in building sustainable rural futures
Selected Publications
Price, H., Adams, E., Quilliam, R. (2019). The difference a day can make: the temporal dynamics of drinking water access and quality in urban slums. Science of the Total Environment, 671, 818-826. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.355
Quilliam RS, Taylor J & Oliver DM (2019). The disparity between regulatory measurements of E. coli in public bathing waters and the public expectation of bathing water quality, Journal of Environmental Management, 232, 868-874. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.11.138
Adams, E., Price, H., Stoler, J. (2019) Urban slums, drinking water and health: trends and lessons from sub-Saharan Africa. In: Handbook of Global Urban Health, Routledge (in press).
Fletcher J, Willby NJ, Oliver DM, Quilliam RS (2019). “Phytoremediation using Aquatic Plants” in Shmaefsky, BR. (Ed), Phytoremediation – In-Situ Applications (Advanced Concepts & Strategies in Plant Sciences), Springer Nature. ISBN978-3-030-00099-8. In press.
Rodrigues A, Oliver DM, McCarron A, Quilliam RS (2019). Colonisation of plastic pellets (nurdles) by E. coli at public bathing beaches. Marine Pollution Bulletin 139, 376-380. DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2019.01.011
Buckerfield SJ, Waldron S, Quilliam RS, Naylor LA, Li S & Oliver DM (2019). How can we improve understanding of faecal indicator dynamics in
karst systems under changing climatic, population, and land use
stressors? – Research opportunities in SW China. Science of the Total Environment 646, 438-447. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2018.07.292
Oliver DM, Bartie PJ, Heathwaite AL, Reaney SM., Parnell JAQ & Quilliam RS(2018). A catchment-scale model to predict spatial and temporal burden of E.colion pasture from grazing livestock. Science of the Total Environment, 616-617, 678-687. DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2017.10.263
Swinscoe I, Oliver DM, Gilburn AS & Quilliam RS (2018). The seaweed fly (Coelopidae) can facilitate environmental survival and transmission of E. coli O157 at sandy beaches. Journal of Environmental Management, 223, 275-285. DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2018.06.045
