Laboratory of Infectious Diseases and Biological Agents, Faculty of Pharmacy, Monastir, Tunisia.
J Appl Microbiol. 2010 Sep;109(3):1093-104. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2672.2010.04772.x.
A prospective study was performed to characterize the main human enteric viruses able to persist in sewage samples and in shellfish tissues, and to establish the correlation between environmental strains and viral infantile diarrhoea observed in the same area during the same period.
A total of 250 sewage (raw and treated) and 60 shellfish samples were collected between January 2003 and April 2007 in Monastir region, Tunisia. Group A rotavirus (RVA) was detected in 80 (32%) sewage samples, norovirus (NoV) in 11 (4·4%) and enteric adenovirus (AdV) in 1 (0·4%). Among 60 shellfish samples collected near sewage effluents, one was contaminated by NoV (1·6%).
Our data represent the first documentation in Tunisia, combining gastroenteritis viruses circulating in the environment and in clinical isolates. We observed a correlation between environmental strains and those found in children suffering from gastroenteritis during the same period study. This suggests the existence of a relationship between water contamination and paediatric diarrhoea.
Our results address the potential health risks associated with transmission of human enteric viruses through water-related environmental routes. The research findings will aid in elucidating the molecular epidemiology and circulation of enteric viruses in Tunisia and in Africa, where data are rare.
本前瞻性研究旨在对能够在污水样本和贝类组织中持续存在的主要人类肠道病毒进行特征描述，并建立同一地区同一时期环境株与病毒性婴幼儿腹泻之间的相关性。
2003 年 1 月至 2007 年 4 月期间，在突尼斯莫纳斯提尔地区采集了 250 份污水（原水和处理水）和 60 份贝类样本。在 80 份（32%）污水样本中检测到 A 组轮状病毒（RVA），11 份（4.4%）污水样本中检测到诺如病毒（NoV），1 份（0.4%）污水样本中检测到肠道腺病毒（AdV）。在靠近污水排放口的 60 份贝类样本中，有 1 份被 NoV 污染（1.6%）。
我们的数据首次结合了在环境和临床分离株中流行的胃肠炎病毒，代表了在突尼斯的首次报道。我们观察到环境株与同期患有胃肠炎的儿童中发现的病毒之间存在相关性。这表明水的污染与儿童腹泻之间存在关系。
本研究结果涉及通过与水有关的环境途径传播人类肠道病毒的相关健康风险。研究结果将有助于阐明突尼斯和非洲肠道病毒的分子流行病学和循环情况，因为这些地区的数据很少。
