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Coronavirus in water environments: Occurrence, persistence and concentration methods - A scoping review
Giuseppina La Rosa1, Lucia Bonadonna1, Luca Lucentini1
1Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Water Research
|May 4, 2020
Summary
Coronaviruses (CoV) show low stability in water and are sensitive to chlorine. Current evidence does not support waterborne transmission of human coronaviruses, but further research on detection methods is needed.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Microbiology
- Virology
- Public Health
Background:
- Coronaviruses (CoV), including SARS-CoV-2, cause diseases from the common cold to severe respiratory illnesses.
- The fecal-oral transmission route for SARS-CoV-2 requires investigation due to virus detection in patient stool samples.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review existing research on coronaviruses in aquatic environments.
- To assess the potential for waterborne transmission of coronaviruses.
Main Methods:
- A scoping review of literature from PubMed, EMBASE, and Web of Science.
- Analysis of studies on CoV persistence, occurrence, and recovery in water.
Main Results:
- Coronaviruses exhibit low environmental stability and are sensitive to chlorine.
- CoV inactivation in water is faster than for non-enveloped enteric viruses.
- Temperature significantly impacts CoV survival rates in water.
- No current evidence links human coronaviruses to surface/groundwater or drinking water transmission.
Conclusions:
- Coronaviruses appear to have limited survival in water environments.
- Further research is needed to develop effective methods for detecting enveloped viruses like CoV in water.
- Findings support water safety planning to mitigate potential risks.
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