Helsinki
Doctoral dissertation on
MSc Annastiina Rytkönen will defend her doctoral dissertation titled as "Hygienic surface water quality in proximity to faecal contamination sources - Application of modern molecular methods in water quality evaluations" from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine on 8.5.2026 at 12 noon. The defence will take place at Helsinki University City Center Campus Porthania building, lecture hall PIII (Yliopistokatu 3). Professor David McCarthy from the University of Guelph will act as the opponent in the defence and Professor Tarja Pitkänen will act as the presiding official.
Wastewater and agricultural runoffs are recognized as the primary threats for surface water quality. Globally, faecal contamination of water and waterborne pathogens cause at hundreds of thousands of deaths annually. The number of communities and individuals affected by decreasing water quality is expected to increase also in Nordic countries as climate change develops. To effectively evaluate the health risks caused by faecal contamination of water and target mitigation efforts, the source of faecal contamination is crucial information.
In her dissertation, Annastiina Rytkönen demonstrates a setup of faecal source tracking methodologies to recognize and provide tools to reduce the microbial risks caused by community sewage and runoff waters. These methods were applied to model the transport of faecal microbes in watersheds and support microbial risk assessment to examine the human health risks caused by faecal pathogens from human and animal sources to surface waters used for recreation. Risk assessment revealed elevated risk for human-borne norovirus infection during wastewater contamination events. C. jejuni infection risk was associated with faecal contamination originating from farms and pastures, although the overall infection risk caused by animal fecal contamination was estimated to be lower than the risk caused by wastewater contamination.
Further information:
Annastiina Rytkönen
Doctoral candidate
University of Helsinki
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Preceding the doctoral defence on 7.5.2026 at 14 h, the opponent professor David McCarthy will give a seminar lecure on the topic ”Next generation water quality surveillance and treatment technologies in urban settings” in Infocenter room 1088 at Viikki campus. The seminar will be chaired by professor Tarja Pitkänen. More information on the