Human enteric viruses in the water environment: a minireview

Area of Science:

• Environmental microbiology
• Virology
• Public health

Background:

• Water virology research began with poliovirus detection.
• Enteric viruses causing gastroenteritis and hepatitis are now primary targets in water analysis.
• Molecular methods like polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) have advanced virus detection capabilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review the evolution of water virology.
• To discuss the limitations of current molecular detection methods.
• To explore alternative indicators for assessing water virological quality.

Main Methods:

• Literature review of water virology techniques.
• Analysis of polymerase-chain reaction (PCR) method's advantages and disadvantages.
• Evaluation of bacterial and bacteriophage indicators for water quality.

Main Results:

• PCR enables detection of difficult-to-culture viruses but is incompatible with some concentration methods and cannot distinguish infectious from non-infectious viral material.
• PCR requires sophisticated laboratory settings.
• Bacterial indicators are unreliable for assessing water virological quality.

Conclusions:

• Selected bacteriophage groups show promise as reliable indicators for water virological quality.
• Further research into bacteriophage-based water quality monitoring is warranted.