Enteroviruses and bacteriophages in bathing waters

Area of Science:

• Environmental microbiology
• Virology
• Water quality assessment

Background:

• Enteroviruses in bathing waters pose a public health risk.
• Traditional methods for enterovirus detection are often inefficient.
• Assessing viral contamination requires reliable detection and quantification methods.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate a modified VIRADEN method for enterovirus detection in large-volume seawater samples.
• To compare the prevalence of enteroviruses with bacterial indicators and bacteriophages in bathing waters.
• To determine the persistence of viruses and indicators under environmental conditions.

Main Methods:

• Application of the VIRADEN method to 10-liter seawater samples for enterovirus detection.
• Quantification of cultivable enteroviruses, viral genomes (RT-PCR), bacterial indicators, and various bacteriophages.
• In situ inactivation experiments to assess the persistence of viruses and indicators.

Main Results:

• The modified VIRADEN method enhanced enterovirus detection efficiency.
• Cultivable enteroviruses were found in 55% of samples, while viral genomes were detected in 20%.
• Somatic coliphages were the most abundant indicators, and their numbers correlated with enterovirus levels.

Conclusions:

• Somatic coliphages show strong potential as predictive indicators for enterovirus contamination in bathing waters.
• Viruses persist longer in the environment than most bacterial indicators, except for somatic coliphages and Bacteroides-infecting phages.
• The study provides insights into the dynamics of viral and bacterial indicators in sewage-impacted bathing waters.