[Waterborne microbiological risk assessment: a state of the art and perspectives]

Microbiological contamination is the most common threat related to drinking water. In developed countries, the current health system provides a good level of protection. However, some facts point out the need to develop further tools for better management of the waterborne risk. Several outbreaks have occurred in the United-States in the past decade. They were most often caused by tap water contamination associated with parasites and viruses, despite good compliance of the water treatment procedures. The chemical risk assessment methodology set up at the end of the 70's can now be applied for microbiological risks. This approach allowed the US authorities to improve their control on waterborne infection risks. Although limited, surveillance data suggest that to date. France has not encountered such outbreaks. However, the baselines and principles of risk management in that area should be also be optimized and updated. This work underlines the limits of the current risk management system. A literature review on microbiological risk assessment is first presented. Applications of this methodology are then commented, advantages and limits of the microbiological risk assessment approach in France are discussed.