1. Enteric Viruses and Pepper Mild Mottle Virus Show Significant Correlation in Select Mid-Atlantic Agricultural Waters.
- Author
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Anderson-Coughlin, Brienna L., Craighead, Shani, Kelly, Alyssa, Gartley, Samantha, Vanore, Adam, Johnson, Gordon, Chengsheng Jiang, Haymaker, Joseph, White, Chanelle, Foust, Derek, Duncan, Rico, East, Cheryl, Handy, Eric T., Bradshaw, Rhodel, Murray, Rianna, Kulkarni, Prachi, Callahan, Mary Theresa, Solaiman, Sultana, Betancourt, Walter, and Gerba, Charles
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ENTEROVIRUSES , *PEPPERS , *FECAL contamination , *NOROVIRUS diseases , *FOODBORNE diseases , *HEPATITIS viruses , *NOROVIRUSES , *HEPATITIS A virus - Abstract
Enteric viruses (EVs) are the largest contributors to foodborne illnesses and outbreaks globally. Their ability to persist in the environment, coupled with the challenges experienced in environmental monitoring, creates a critical aperture through which agricultural crops may become contaminated. This study involved a 17-month investigation of select human EVs and viral indicators in nontraditional irrigation water sources (surface and reclaimed waters) in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Real-time quantitative PCR was used for detection of Aichi virus, hepatitis A virus, and norovirus genotypes I and II (GI and GII, respectively). Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), a common viral indicator of human fecal contamination, was also evaluated, along with atmospheric (air and water temperature, cloud cover, and precipitation 24 h, 7 days, and 14 days prior to sample collection) and physicochemical (dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, and turbidity) data, to determine whether there were any associations between EVs and measured parameters. EVs were detected more frequently in reclaimed waters (32% [n=22]) than in surface waters (4% [n=49]), similar to PMMoV detection frequency in surface (33% [n=42]) and reclaimed (67% [n=21]) waters. Our data show a significant correlation between EV and PMMoV (R² = 0.628, P,0.05) detection levels in reclaimed water samples but not in surface water samples (R² = 0.476, P=0.78). Water salinity significantly affected the detection of both EVs and PMMoV (P,0.05), as demonstrated by logistic regression analyses. These results provide relevant insights into the extent and degree of association between human (pathogenic) EVs and water quality data in Mid-Atlantic surface and reclaimed waters, as potential sources for agricultural irrigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2021
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