Dr. Eiji Haramoto, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, received a Best Presentation Award at 5th International Conference on Environment Pollution and Prevention (ICEPP 2017)

 Dr. Eiji Haramoto, Associate Professor of Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment (ICRE), received a Best Presentation Award at 5th International Conference on Environment Pollution and Prevention (ICEPP 2017) which had been held at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, on December 14-16, 2017.

 The title of his presentation was ‘Detection of waterborne protozoa, viruses, and bacteria in groundwater and other water samples in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal.’ In this study, water sampling was conducted in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal, during a three-year period in order to determine the prevalence of waterborne pathogens, such as noroviruses, adenoviruses, and Cryptosporidium. The results of this study demonstrated that groundwater and other water samples were highly contaminated with various types of waterborne pathogens and that Escherichia coli, a traditional fecal indicator bacterium, was inadequate to be used as an indicator for pathogen contamination of water.

 Dr. Haramoto’s comment is as follows: This study could successfully clarify the severe situation of waterborne infectious diseases in the Kathmandu Valley. Considering the achievements of this study, I am now working in the Science and Technology Research Partnership for Sustainable Development (SATREPS) project entitled ‘Hydro-microbiological Approach for Water Security in Kathmandu Valley, Nepal,’ together with my colleagues of ICRE and other researchers. I will continue to work for this project for the establishment of safe water supply in the Kathmandu Valley.