Astrovirus survival in drinking water

Area of Science:

• Environmental microbiology
• Virology
• Molecular biology

Background:

• Astrovirus is a significant cause of gastroenteritis transmitted via the fecal-oral route.
• Accurate detection of infectious astrovirus is crucial for understanding its environmental persistence and transmission.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel method for detecting infectious astrovirus.
• To assess the environmental persistence of astrovirus in water under different temperature conditions.
• To evaluate the efficacy of free chlorine in inactivating astrovirus.

Main Methods:

• Infection of CaCo-2 cell monolayers followed by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (CC-RT-PCR).
• Validation using poliovirus titration and determination of cytopathogenic units.
• Monitoring astrovirus decay in dechlorinated tap water at varying temperatures.
• Assessing astrovirus inactivation by free chlorine at different concentrations and exposure times.

Main Results:

• CC-RT-PCR specifically detected infectious astrovirus.
• Astrovirus showed significant decay in water over 90 days, with greater reduction at 20°C compared to 4°C.
• Free chlorine effectively inactivated astrovirus, with higher concentrations and longer exposure leading to greater log titer reduction.

Conclusions:

• The developed CC-RT-PCR method is effective for detecting infectious astrovirus.
• This method provides valuable data on astrovirus survival in environmental matrices.
• Findings contribute to understanding the epidemiology of astrovirus infections and inform water safety measures.