Hygienic Aspects of Safe Water Use in the Context of Water Contamination with Cyanobacterial Toxins: A Literature Review

Introduction: The problem of the widespread growth of toxigenic cyanobacteria in water supply sources necessitates the development of appropriate programs and strategies aimed at monitoring the quality and safety of water contaminated with cyanotoxins.

Objective: To analyze current data and international experience in monitoring and predicting cyanotoxin contamination of drinking water and water supply sources.

Materials and Methods: The study materials included Russian and foreign scientific articles retrieved from full-text databases (Scopus, PubMed, and eLIBRARY.ru) and regulatory documents issued in 2007–2026. The analysis of 65 selected publications and 10 regulatory documents was carried out by systematizing and summarizing the data.

Results: Toxigenic cyanobacterial strains and the toxins they produce are ubiquitous in water sources of the Russian Federation. Routine methods of water treatment do not ensure complete removal of cyanotoxins from drinking water. Current bloom monitoring programs are based on measuring photosynthetic pigment concentrations and counting the number of cyanobacterial cells. Several studies have demonstrated the predictive value of using techniques of molecular genetics to detect toxigenic genes when assessing water contamination with cyanotoxins. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay is the most affordable and sensitive method for determining cyanotoxin levels in drinking and source water.

Conclusions: The review of recent research findings and international experience has given us an insight into cyanotoxin contamination of drinking water and sources of household and recreational water use and helped identify potential areas for improving the existing water quality and safety monitoring system using a methodological tool for predicting and quantifying toxin levels in both drinking and source water. 

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