HELMINTH EGGS VIABILITY IN SEWAGE AND BIOSOLIDS SLUDGE IN CURITIBA, PARANA, BRAZIL

Despite some benefits, municipal sludge poses hazards to human-kind an d domestic animals because of the presence of some pathogenic agents i n it. Bacteria, viruses, protozoan cysts, and helminth eggs may be pre sent in the sludge. In Parana State, SANEPAR, the responsible agency f or collection and treatment of sewage sludge, is attempting to use the biosolids in agriculture. However, the risk to human and animal infec tion by the pathogenics should be considered before its use. An attemp t was made to study the occurrence, viability and survival of helminth eggs and larva and protozoan cysts in the sludge. Parasitological ana lyses of twelve sludge biosolids and ten sewage sludge samples were co llected and analyzed, from the treatment station ETE Belem (Curitiba, Brazil) for a period of one year. Four of the ten sewage sludge sample s examined revealed the presence of helminth eggs as high as up to 20 eggs/l. In the biosolids sludge, the average number of helminth eggs, per 1 g of dry matter, was 4.85. However, the aerobic treatment reduce d the viability of helminth egg to 56.67%, and the total number of via ble eggs was 1.85/g of dry matter. Ascaris sp. was the prevalent paras ite (75.7%), followed by H. diminuta (9.3%), Trichuris sp. (7.4%), Hym enolepis nana (3.6%), Toxocara sp. (2.7%), and Taenia sp. (1.3%). Thus treatments was will be necessary to hygienize the sludge for use in a griculture.