SIGNATURE WORK
CONFERENCE & EXHIBITION 2022

With more and more extreme weather events induced by climate change, studies from multiple countries have discovered that these events could result in an increase of water contamination and the spread of waterborne pathogen in freshwater resources, but this impact has not been widely studied in China. To investigate whether extreme rainfall events in China could cause increased risks of pathogen infection and public health hazards, drinking and surface water samples were collected from February to August 2021 from Changzhou and Hangzhou before and after typhoon In-fa, from Guangzhou and Beijing during extreme rainfall, and from Zhengzhou before and after flooding. Samples were analyzed through high-throughput Illumina 16S rRNA gene sequencing. Results showed that each city had a different change pattern among the 11 important potential pathogens. Although the presence of most pathogens was in low abundance (less than 0.1%), elevated levels of most pathogens were observed after extreme precipitation. Specifically, after typhoon In-fa, the relative abundance of Mycobacterium in Changzhou tap water reached as high as 19%, and Leptospira exhibited a significant increase (P=0.04) in West Lake. Meanwhile, detection of a wide range of pathogens in ponding water and tap water after flooding and typhoon indicated a significant health risk that may have been largely ignored. In conclusion, our research suggested that increased exposure to waterborne diseases is expected after extreme precipitation, and a greater focus on the rigorous treatment of drinking water after extreme weather events is strongly required.