ABSTRACT
The literature review has indicated that more research needs to be undertaken in areas concerning the inactivation of pathogenic organisms after urban floods because the presence or absence of pathogens immediately after floods does not provide a direct indication of risk to human health. In order to understand the fate of pathogens and predict public health risks and safe conditions, it is necessary to link the timescales of hydrodynamic events with the timescales of pathogen inactivation. The pH of different surfaces affects solar inactivation of surrogate microorganisms for enteric pathogens on these surfaces. In order to obtain a more realistic assessment of the overall health risks and to determine when access into flooded areas is safe, it is necessary to understand the critical factors influencing the inactivation of pathogens on different urban surfaces, for which literature is very limited. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.
