Quantification and molecular characterization of intact rotavirus species A (RVA) in municipal solid waste leachate

Leachate comprises a solid waste decomposition product found fresh in collection trucks or as an effluent in landfills. This study aimed to assess the occurrence, concentrations, and genetic diversity of intact rotavirus species A (RVA) in solid waste leachate.

Leachate samples were concentrated by ultracentrifugation, treated with propidium monoazide (PMA), and exposed to LED photolysis. Treated and untread samples were extracted using the QIAamp Fast DNA Stool mini kit, and nucleic acids were screened for RVA employing a Taqman® Real-time PCR. The PMA RT-qPCR method detected RVA in eight out of nine truck samples and in 15.40% (2/13) of the landfill leachate samples. The RVA concentrations in the PMA-treated samples ranged from 4.57 × 103 to 2.15 × 107 genomic copies (GC) 100 mL-1 in truck leachate and from 7.83 × 103 to 1.42 × 104 GC 100 mL-1 in landfill samples. Six truck leachate samples were characterized as RVA VP6 genogroup I2 by partial nucleotide sequencing.

The high intact RVA detection rates and concentrations in truck leachate samples indicate potential infectivity and comprise a warning for solid waste collectors concerning hand-to-mouth contact and the splash route.