Atsama-Amougou Marie, Djomsi-Meta Dowbiss, Ngamaleu Modeste Romuald, Simo Fredy Brice Nemg, Saha Christophe Lontsi, Lamare-Boutgam Nadine, Godwe Celestin, Maidadi-Foudi Martin, Tongo Marcel, Mpabuka Etienne, Kouanfack Charles, Ayouba Ahidjo
Research Center on Emerging and Re-emerging Diseases, Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plant Study, Yaounde, Cameroon, Yaounde, Cameroon.
Laboratory of Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon.
One Health. 2025 Jun 13;21:101110. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2025.101110. eCollection 2025 Dec.
Wastewater-based epidemiology has emerged as a valuable tool for surveilling food- and waterborne disease outbreaks. However, wastewater-based epidemiology remains poorly understood in sub-Saharan Africa. The current study investigated the prevalence of five human enteric viruses and the effect of seasonality on their distribution.
A twelve-month cross-sectional study was conducted using untreated wastewater. Collected samples were concentrated by polyethylene glycol precipitation and analyzed for molecular detection of Adenovirus, Noroviruses Genotype I, Noroviruses Genotype II, Rotavirus, and Astroviruses using a commercially available Real-Time PCR Bosphore® Gastroenteritis Panel Kit.
Overall, all target viruses were detected, with adenoviruses being the most prevalent at 88.9 % (64/72). Our results revealed the variations in the detection of all these viruses, with detection varying with the change of seasons. Although the difference in detection rates between the rainy and dry seasons did not reach statistical significance in some cases, our results reveal a consistent detection (100 %) across all sampling sites at certain seasons. Adenoviruses exhibited a peak detection period from September to November. Regarding Rotavirus and Norovirus, our findings indicate that they exhibited a peak detection during the short rainy season (March-June), with detection rates of 36.7 % (18/49) and 40.9 % (18/44), respectively.
This study provides the first report on the effect of seasonality on the distribution of enteric viruses in wastewater in Cameroon. Our results highlight the importance of considering seasonal variations when designing public health interventions and demonstrate the usefulness of wastewater-based epidemiology in environmental surveillance.
基于废水的流行病学已成为监测食源性和水源性疾病暴发的重要工具。然而，撒哈拉以南非洲地区对基于废水的流行病学仍知之甚少。本研究调查了五种人类肠道病毒的流行情况及其季节性分布的影响。
采用未经处理的废水进行为期12个月的横断面研究。采集的样本通过聚乙二醇沉淀法浓缩，并使用市售的实时荧光定量PCR Bosphore®肠胃炎检测试剂盒对腺病毒、诺如病毒I型、诺如病毒II型、轮状病毒和星状病毒进行分子检测。
总体而言，所有目标病毒均被检测到，其中腺病毒最为常见，检出率为88.9%（64/72）。我们的结果揭示了所有这些病毒检测结果的差异，其检测结果随季节变化而不同。尽管在某些情况下，雨季和旱季的检测率差异未达到统计学意义，但我们的结果显示在某些季节所有采样点的检测率均达到100%。腺病毒的检测高峰期为9月至11月。关于轮状病毒和诺如病毒，我们的研究结果表明它们在短雨季（3月至6月）检测率达到峰值，分别为36.7%（18/49）和40.9%（18/44）。
本研究首次报道了喀麦隆季节性变化对废水中肠道病毒分布的影响。我们的结果强调了在设计公共卫生干预措施时考虑季节变化的重要性，并证明了基于废水的流行病学在环境监测中的实用性。
