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EPA Method 1615. Measurement of Enterovirus and Norovirus Occurrence in Water by Culture and RT-qPCR. I. Collection of Virus Samples
Published on: March 28, 2015
Occurrence of enteric viruses in reclaimed and surface irrigation water: relationship with microbiological and
F López-Gálvez1, P Truchado1, G Sánchez2,3
1Research Group on Quality, Safety and Bioactivity of Plant Foods, Department of Food Science and Technology, CEBAS-CSIC, Murcia, Spain.
Aims:
To assess the prevalence of enteric viruses in different irrigation water sources and in the irrigated produce, and the possible links with microbiological and physicochemical water characteristics.
Methods And Results:
The prevalence and levels of Escherichia coli, Norovirus (NoV) genogroup I (GI) and II (GII), as well as Hepatitis A virus were assessed in three types of water: surface water (surface-W), reclaimed water subjected to secondary treatment (secondary-W) and reclaimed water subjected to tertiary treatment (tertiary-W), as well as in zucchini irrigated with these irrigation water sources. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, total suspended solids, alkalinity and maximum filterable volume (MFV) were also measured in the water. Higher prevalence of NoV in secondary-W (GI 100%, GII 55·6%) and tertiary-W (GI 91·7%, GII 66·7%) compared with surface-W (GI 58·4%, GII 22·2%) was observed. Nov GI showed positive correlation with E. coli (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0·68, P < 0·01), and with some physicochemical parameters such as COD (0·52, P < 0·01), turbidity (0·52, P < 0·01) and MFV (0·54, P < 0·01). Escherichia coli and enteric viruses were not detected in zucchini.
Conclusion:
There is a potential risk of contamination of crops with NoV when reclaimed water is used for irrigation.
Significance And Impact Of The Study:
Increase the knowledge on the prevalence of enteric viruses in different irrigation water sources, and its consequences for fresh produce safety.
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