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Pathogens
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Enteric Viruses in Aquatic Environments
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Enteric Viruses in Aquatic Environments

A special issue of Pathogens (ISSN 2076-0817).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 August 2019) | Viewed by 22772

Printed Edition Available!
A printed edition of this Special Issue is available here.

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Eiji Haramoto

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
Interests: health-related water microbiology; microbial source tracking; viral indicators; wastewater-based epidemiology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Masaaki Kitajima

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Sapporo 060-8628, Japan
Interests: health-related water microbiology; wastewater-based epidemiology; environmental virology; water and wastewater treatment; molecular biology; microbial risk assessment; biosensor; COVID-19
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Enteric viruses, such as noroviruses, adenoviruses, and rotaviruses, are excreted into the feces of infected individuals and can be transmitted through the fecal–oral route via contaminated food and water. Thus, it is important to understand the prevalence of enteric viruses in aquatic environments, along with their behaviors during water and wastewater treatment processes. The development of methods for concentrating, detecting, and quantifying enteric viruses in environmental samples is still challenging, as no gold standard methods have yet been established. Recent viral metagenomic studies have demonstrated high genetic diversity of enteric viruses, identifying novel viruses. Studies on indicators of enteric viruses and on viral indicators of fecal contamination are also necessary for a better management of microbial water contamination.

This Special Issue on "Enteric Viruses in Aquatic Environments" addresses cutting-edge studies and welcomes research papers and review articles from leading scientists in the field of water and environmental virology.

Dr. Eiji Haramoto
Dr. Masaaki Kitajima
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Pathogens is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2700 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Methods for detection of enteric viruses in aquatic environments
  • Occurrence of enteric viruses in aquatic environments
  • Reduction of enteric viruses during water and wastewater treatment
  • Viral indicators
  • Microbial source tracking using viruses
  • Quantitative microbial risk assessment for viruses

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

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13 pages, 663 KiB  
Article
Metagenomic Analysis of Infectious F-Specific RNA Bacteriophage Strains in Wastewater Treatment and Disinfection Processes
by Suntae Lee, Mamoru Suwa and Hiroyuki Shigemura
Pathogens 2019, 8(4), 217; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens8040217 - 3 Nov 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2352
Abstract
F-specific RNA bacteriophages (FRNAPHs) can be used to indicate water contamination and the fate of viruses in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, the occurrence of FRNAPH strains in WWTPs is relatively unknown, whereas FRNAPH genotypes (GI–GIV) are well documented. This study investigated the [...] Read more.
F-specific RNA bacteriophages (FRNAPHs) can be used to indicate water contamination and the fate of viruses in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). However, the occurrence of FRNAPH strains in WWTPs is relatively unknown, whereas FRNAPH genotypes (GI–GIV) are well documented. This study investigated the diversity of infectious FRNAPH strains in wastewater treatment and disinfection processes using cell culture combined with next-generation sequencing (integrated culture–NGS (IC–NGS)). A total of 32 infectious strains belonging to FRNAPH GI (nine strains), GI-JS (two strains), GII (nine strains), GIII (seven strains), and GIV (five strains) were detected in wastewater samples. The strains of FRNAPH GI and GII exhibited greater resistance to wastewater treatment than those of GIII. The IC–NGS results in the disinfected samples successfully reflected the infectivity of FRNAPHs by evaluating the relationship between IC–NGS results and the integrated culture–reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction combined with the most probable number assay, which can detect infectious FRNAPH genotypes. The diversity of infectious FRNAPH strains in the disinfected samples indicates that certain strains are more resistant to chlorine (DL52, GI-JS; T72, GII) and ultraviolet (T72, GII) disinfection. It is possible that investigating these disinfectant-resistant strains could reveal effective mechanisms of viral disinfection. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enteric Viruses in Aquatic Environments)
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14 pages, 1669 KiB  
Article
Fecal Source Tracking in A Wastewater Treatment and Reclamation System Using Multiple Waterborne Gastroenteritis Viruses
by Zheng Ji, Xiaochang C. Wang, Limei Xu, Chongmiao Zhang, Cheng Rong, Andri Taruna Rachmadi, Mohan Amarasiri, Satoshi Okabe, Naoyuki Funamizu and Daisuke Sano
Pathogens 2019, 8(4), 170; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens8040170 - 30 Sep 2019
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 4171
Abstract
Gastroenteritis viruses in wastewater reclamation systems can pose a major threat to public health. In this study, multiple gastroenteritis viruses were detected from wastewater to estimate the viral contamination sources in a wastewater treatment and reclamation system installed in a suburb of Xi’an [...] Read more.
Gastroenteritis viruses in wastewater reclamation systems can pose a major threat to public health. In this study, multiple gastroenteritis viruses were detected from wastewater to estimate the viral contamination sources in a wastewater treatment and reclamation system installed in a suburb of Xi’an city, China. Reverse transcription plus nested or semi-nested PCR, followed by sequencing and phylogenetic analysis, were used for detection and genotyping of noroviruses and rotaviruses. As a result, 91.7% (22/24) of raw sewage samples, 70.8% (17/24) of the wastewater samples treated by anaerobic/anoxic/oxic (A2O) process and 62.5% (15/24) of lake water samples were positive for at least one of target gastroenteritis viruses while all samples collected from membrane bioreactor effluent after free chlorine disinfection were negative. Sequence analyses of the PCR products revealed that epidemiologically minor strains of norovirus GI (GI/14) and GII (GII/13) were frequently detected in the system. Considering virus concentration in the disinfected MBR effluent which is used as the source of lake water is below the detection limit, these results indicate that artificial lake may be contaminated from sources other than the wastewater reclamation system, which may include aerosols, and there is a possible norovirus infection risk by exposure through reclaimed water usage and by onshore winds transporting aerosols containing norovirus. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enteric Viruses in Aquatic Environments)
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11 pages, 1198 KiB  
Article
Development of a Portable Detection Method for Enteric Viruses from Ambient Air and Its Application to a Wastewater Treatment Plant
by Koichi Matsubara and Hiroyuki Katayama
Pathogens 2019, 8(3), 131; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens8030131 - 24 Aug 2019
Cited by 8 | Viewed by 4004
Abstract
The ambient air from wastewater treatment plants has been considered as a potential source of pathogenic microorganisms to cause an occupational risk for the workers of the plants. Existing detection methods for enteric viruses from the air using a liquid as the collection [...] Read more.
The ambient air from wastewater treatment plants has been considered as a potential source of pathogenic microorganisms to cause an occupational risk for the workers of the plants. Existing detection methods for enteric viruses from the air using a liquid as the collection medium therefore require special care to handle on-site. Knowledge accumulation on airborne virus risks from wastewater has been hindered by a lack of portable and handy collection methods. Enteric viruses are prevalent at high concentrations in wastewater; thus, the surrounding air may also be a potential source of viral transmission. We developed a portable collection and detection method for enteric viruses from ambient air and applied it to an actual wastewater treatment plant in Japan. Materials of the collection medium and eluting methods were optimized for real-time polymerase chain reaction-based virus quantification. The method uses a 4 L/min active air sampler, which is capable of testing 0.7–1.6 m3 air after 3–7 h sampling with a detection limit of 102 copies/m3 air in the field. Among 16 samples collected at five to seven locations in three sampling trials (November 2007–January 2008), 56% (9/16) samples were positive for norovirus (NV) GII, with the highest concentration of 3.2 × 103 copies/m3 air observed at the sampling point near a grit chamber. Adenoviruses (4/16), NV GI (6/16), FRNA bacteriophages GIII (3/16), and enteroviruses (3/16) were also detected but at lower concentrations. The virus concentration in the air was associated with that of the wastewater at each process. The results imply that the air from the sewer pipes or treatment process is contaminated by enteric viruses and thus special attention is needed to avoid accidental ingestion of viruses via air. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enteric Viruses in Aquatic Environments)
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5 pages, 575 KiB  
Communication
Weekly Variation of Rotavirus A Concentrations in Sewage and Oysters in Japan, 2014–2016
by Erika Ito, Jian Pu, Takayuki Miura, Shinobu Kazama, Masateru Nishiyama, Hiroaki Ito, Yoshimitsu Konta, Gia Thanh Nguyen, Tatsuo Omura and Toru Watanabe
Pathogens 2019, 8(3), 89; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens8030089 - 26 Jun 2019
Cited by 7 | Viewed by 3339
Abstract
Concentrations of rotavirus A, in sewage and oysters collected weekly from September 2014 to April 2016 in Japan, were investigated using RT-qPCR; results showed up to 6.5 log10 copies/mL and 4.3 log10 copies/g of digestive tissue (DT) in sewage and oysters, [...] Read more.
Concentrations of rotavirus A, in sewage and oysters collected weekly from September 2014 to April 2016 in Japan, were investigated using RT-qPCR; results showed up to 6.5 log10 copies/mL and 4.3 log10 copies/g of digestive tissue (DT) in sewage and oysters, respectively. No correlation was found between rotavirus concentration in sewage and oysters and cases of rotavirus-associated gastroenteritis. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enteric Viruses in Aquatic Environments)
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13 pages, 898 KiB  
Article
Detection of Pathogenic Viruses, Pathogen Indicators, and Fecal-Source Markers within Tanker Water and Their Sources in the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal
by Bikash Malla, Rajani Ghaju Shrestha, Sarmila Tandukar, Dinesh Bhandari, Ocean Thakali, Jeevan B. Sherchand and Eiji Haramoto
Pathogens 2019, 8(2), 81; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens8020081 - 19 Jun 2019
Cited by 15 | Viewed by 4175
Abstract
Tanker water is used extensively for drinking as well as domestic purposes in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. This study aimed to investigate water quality in terms of microbial contamination and determine sources of fecal pollution within these waters. Thirty-one samples from 17 [...] Read more.
Tanker water is used extensively for drinking as well as domestic purposes in the Kathmandu Valley of Nepal. This study aimed to investigate water quality in terms of microbial contamination and determine sources of fecal pollution within these waters. Thirty-one samples from 17 tanker filling stations (TFSs) and 30 water tanker (WT) samples were collected during the dry and wet seasons of 2016. Escherichia coli was detected in 52% of the 31 TFS samples and even more frequently in WT samples. Of the six pathogenic viruses tested, enteroviruses, noroviruses of genogroup II (NoVs-GII), human adenoviruses (HAdVs), and group A rotaviruses were detected using quantitative PCR (qPCR) at 10, five, four, and two TFSs, respectively, whereas Aichi virus 1 and NoVs-GI were not detected at any sites. Index viruses, such as pepper mild mottle virus and tobacco mosaic virus, were detected using qPCR in 77% and 95% out of 22 samples, respectively, all of which were positive for at least one of the tested pathogenic viruses. At least one of the four human-associated markers tested (i.e., BacHum, HAdVs, and JC and BK polyomaviruses) was detected using qPCR in 39% of TFS samples. Ruminant-associated markers were detected at three stations, and pig- and chicken-associated markers were found at one station each of the suburbs. These findings indicate that water supplied by TFSs is generally of poor quality and should be improved, and proper management of WTs should be implemented. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enteric Viruses in Aquatic Environments)
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Review

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12 pages, 224 KiB  
Review
Assessing the Occurrence of Waterborne Viruses in Reuse Systems: Analytical Limits and Needs
by Charles P. Gerba and Walter Q. Betancourt
Pathogens 2019, 8(3), 107; https://doi.org/10.3390/pathogens8030107 - 22 Jul 2019
Cited by 16 | Viewed by 3807
Abstract
Detection of waterborne enteric viruses is an essential tool in assessing the risk of waterborne transmission. Cell culture is considered a gold standard for detection of these viruses. However, it is important to recognize the uncertainty and limitations of enteric virus detection in [...] Read more.
Detection of waterborne enteric viruses is an essential tool in assessing the risk of waterborne transmission. Cell culture is considered a gold standard for detection of these viruses. However, it is important to recognize the uncertainty and limitations of enteric virus detection in cell culture. Cell culture cannot support replication of all virus types and strains, and numerous factors control the efficacy of specific virus detection assays, including chemical additives, cell culture passage number, and sequential passage of a sample in cell culture. These factors can result in a 2- to 100-fold underestimation of virus infectivity. Molecular methods reduce the time for detection of viruses and are useful for detection of those that do not produce cytopathogenic effects. The usefulness of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to access virus infectivity has been demonstrated for only a limited number of enteric viruses and is limited by an understanding of the mechanism of virus inactivation. All of these issues are important to consider when assessing waterborne infectious viruses and expected goals on virus reductions needed for recycled water. The use of safety factors to account for this may be useful to ensure that the risks in drinking water and recycled water for potable reuse are minimized. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Enteric Viruses in Aquatic Environments)
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