Veridiana Karmann Bastos

Conceptual framework illustrating the structural gap between emergency WASH interventions implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic and long-term policy solutions required to ensure equitable access for homeless populations. Our findings highlight the prevalence of ephemeral, palliative interventions - such as mobile sanitation and temporary sheltering - which, while mitigating immediate health risks, perpetuate a cycle of exclusion. Consequently, we argue for the radical structural integration of WASH services into permanent housing and social protection frameworks, shifting the focus from crisis management to rights-based policy. Homeless populations worldwide face sanitary vulnerability due to limited access to safe WASH. The COVID-19 pandemic exposed this failure, rendering mitigation measures unfeasible and transforming a chronic crisis into a public health emergency. We critically analyze WASH and health policies implemented during the pandemic, focusing on international and Brazilian contexts. Drawing on an integrative review and documentary analysis of 94 sources, evidence was categorized across four analytical axes: Immediate Access, Equity and Inclusion, Sustainability and Political Integration, and Social Context. Findings reveal an ‘inequality of attention,’ referring to the unequal extent to which vulnerable populations are institutionally recognized, prioritized, and incorporated into coordinated responses, despite legal rights. Most literature focused on Social Context, considering WASH a social determinant of health rather than a technical service. This indicates that, for homeless populations, WASH cannot be reduced to service provision; it is shaped by urban exclusion, dependence on public spaces, and policy prioritization. Sustainability and Political Integration revealed decentralized emergency measures relying on existing legal frameworks but lacking central coordination and consistent implementation. We conclude that the pandemic exposed limited institutional resilience. Future WASH policies must be integrated into housing strategies, ensuring dignified, equitable, and sustainable access as a fundamental human right.

Resumo - O reuso de água contribui nos âmbitos ambientais, sociais e econômicos. Entretanto a presença de parasitos em amostras hídricas tem sido evidenciada por diferentes estudos, entre eles Toxoplasma...

Some epidemiologic studies conducted in developing countries demonstrated a high incidence of enteroparasites, Ascaris sp. being the most prevalent. Therefore, the use of sewage sludge in agriculture may pose risks to human health. In order to protect public health, a Brazilian regulation has established standards regarding its use in rural areas. The objective of this study was to quantify Ascaris sp. and other helminth eggs in sewage sludge from five wastewater treatment plants from a dense metropolitan region, and also to check compliance with the law. The analysis was carried according to USEPA 2003 USEPA. 2003. United States Environmental Protection Agency. Environmental regulations and technology – control of pathogens and vector attraction in sewage sludge (including domestic septage). Under 40 CFR Part 503. Appendix I – test method for detecting, enumerating, and determining the viability of Ascaris ova in sludge 166 EPA/625/R–92/013; [cited 2012 Oct 4]. Available from: www.epa.gov/ORD/NRMRL/pubs [Google Scholar] . A rich parasitological fauna was found, with a prevalence of the eggs of Ascaris sp. (9.55%). The samples analyzed presented a large variety of helminth eggs, and Ascaris sp. proved to be the most prevalent which put in evidence that its application poses public health concerns.

The objective of this paper was to assess bacteriological quality of drinking water in a peri-urban area located in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, Brazil. A total of 89 water samples were collected from community plastic tanks and 177 water samples from wells were collected bimonthly, from September 2007 to November 2008, for evaluating bacteriological parameters including: Escherichia coli, Enterococcus and heterotrophic plate count (HPC). Clostridium perfringens was investigated in a subsample (40 samples from community plastic tank and 40 from wells). E. coli was present in 5 (5.6%) samples from community plastic tanks (2.0 - 5.1x10(4) MPN/100mL) and in 70 (39.5%) well samples (2.0 - 8.6x10(4) MPN/100mL). Thus, these samples were not in accordance with the Brazilian Regulation. Enterococcus was detected in 20 (22.5%) samples of the community plastic tanks (1 to 79 NC/100mL) and in 142 (80.2%) well samples (1 to >200 NC/100mL). C. perfringens was detected in 5 (12.5%) community plastic tanks samples and in 35 (87.5%) wells samples (2.2 to >16 MPN/100mL). HPC were above 500 CFU/mL in 5 (5.6%) waters from community plastic tanks. In wells samples, the HPC ranged from <1 to 1.6x10(4) CFU/mL. The residual chlorine did not attend the standard established in the drinking water legislation (0.2 mg/L), except in 20 (22.5%) samples. These results confirm the vulnerability of the water supply systems in this peri-urban area what is clearly a public health concern.CNP

The protozoan parasites Giardia and Cryptosporidium have been described as important waterborne disease pathogens, and are associated with severe gastrointestinal illnesses. The objective of this paper was to investigate the presence of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts in samples from watershed catchments and treated water sources. A total of 25 water samples were collected and examined according to the US EPA—Method 1623, 2005, consisting of 12 from drinking water and 13 from raw water. Positive samples from raw water for Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts were 46.1 and 7.6%, respectively. In finished water, positive samples were 41.7% for Giardia cysts and 25.0% for Cryptosporidium oocysts. Concentrations of Giardia cysts found in raw water samples ranged from “not detected” to 3.4 cysts/L, whereas concentrations of Cryptoporidium oocysts ranged from “not detected” to 0.1 oocysts/L. In finished water, Giardia concentrations ranged from “not detected” to 0.06 cysts/L, and Cryptosporidium, from “not detected” to 0.01 oocysts/L. Concentrations of Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts were not high in the samples analyzed. Nevertheless, the results of this study highlight the need to monitor these organisms in both raw and drinking water.