Dipartimento di Ambiente e Connessa Prevenzione Primaria, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
Ann Ist Super Sanita. 2010;46(3):266-73. doi: 10.4415/ANN_10_03_07.
The prevalence of enteric viruses in wastewater, the efficacy of wastewater treatments in eliminating such viruses, and potential health risks from their release into the environment or by recycling of treated wastewaters, are very important issues in environmental microbiology. In this study we performed a quantitative TaqMan real-time PCR (polymerase chain reaction) analysis of enteric viruses on samples of influents and effluents from 5 wastewater treatment plants in and around Rome. Three epidemiologically important, waterborne enteric viruses were analyzed: adenoviruses, enteroviruses and noroviruses (GI and GII) and compared to classical bacterial indicators of fecal contamination. The concentration of adenoviruses was the highest, in both raw and treated waters. Mean values in influents were ranked as follows: adenovirus > norovirus GI > norovirus GII > enterovirus. In effluents, the ranking was: adenovirus > norovirus GI > enterovirus > norovirus GII. Removal efficiencies ranged from 35% (enterovirus) to 78% (norovirus GI), while removal efficiency for bacterial indicators was up to 99%. Since molecular quantification does not necessarily indicate an actual threat to human health, we proceeded to evaluate the infectivity of enterovirus particles in treated effluents through integrated cell culture and real-time PCR. Infectivity assays detected live virions in treated water, pointing to potential public health risks through the release of these viruses into the environment. A better understanding of viral presence and resistance to sewage purification processes have the potential of contributing to the effective management of risks linked to the recycling of treated wastewater, and its discharge into the environment.
肠病毒在污水中的流行情况、污水处理在消除这些病毒方面的效果，以及它们在环境中释放或经处理污水再循环时可能带来的健康风险，都是环境微生物学中的重要问题。在本研究中，我们对罗马及其周边地区的 5 家污水处理厂的进水和出水样本进行了定量 TaqMan 实时聚合酶链反应（PCR）分析，以研究肠道病毒。分析了三种具有流行病学重要性的、经水传播的肠道病毒：腺病毒、肠病毒和诺如病毒（GI 和 GII），并将其与粪便污染的经典细菌指标进行了比较。腺病毒在原水和处理水中的浓度最高。进水样本中浓度的平均值排序如下：腺病毒＞诺如病毒 GI＞诺如病毒 GII＞肠病毒。在出水样本中，排序如下：腺病毒＞诺如病毒 GI＞肠病毒＞诺如病毒 GII。去除效率的范围为 35%（肠病毒）至 78%（诺如病毒 GI），而细菌指标的去除效率高达 99%。由于分子定量并不一定表示对人类健康的实际威胁，因此我们通过整合细胞培养和实时 PCR 来评估处理后废水中肠病毒颗粒的感染性。感染性测定在处理水中检测到活病毒粒子，表明这些病毒释放到环境中可能会带来公共卫生风险。更好地了解病毒的存在和对污水净化过程的抵抗力，有可能有助于有效管理与处理后污水的再循环及其排放到环境中的相关风险。
