Application and policy implication of quantitative microbial risk assessment in developing countries

Abstract

The development of QMRA and its application are seen mainly in developed countries whereas they are still at an early stage in developing countries. However there is a good potential that QMRA can be used more extensively in training and research and to set the standard of water quality and food safety in developing countries. This presentation highlights how training and research on QMRA have been done in Vietnam. As little trainings on risk assessment in general and no training on QMRA were available in Vietnam, we developed a training course of QMRA by gathering existing QMRA trainings, contextualizing and adapting them to the local context. The resulting course teaches participants about the concept of risk analysis, the steps of a QMRA, and how to implement these steps as well as risk communication and management. A first one-week training course was successfully organized. Risk related to wastewater reuse in agriculture and food safety was assessed using QMRA in Vietnam, Thailand and Ivory Coast. Diverse scenarios of exposure to wastewater when working with wastewater for agriculture and consumption of pork meat have been studied to quantify health risk. The results showed that water and vegetables were heavily contaminated with pathogens and risk was high in tested scenarios and largely exceeded the acceptable level set by WHO. Results identified the most critical points where risk is important and intervention can be focused. Findings can serve to improve policy and practices on waste reuse. QMRA training course has been recognised by health staff, lecturers, researchers, and policymakers at the MOH as a useful tool that provides scientific evidence for decision-making and risk management. Thus a book on QMRA was published in Vietnamese with support of MOH and WHO. University has adapted the health risk assessment course for undergraduate and graduate public health students. Other initiatives are going on to increase QMRA research activities