Evidence of the co-circulation of enteric viruses in sewage and in the population of Greater Cairo.
OBJECTIVE
To characterize major enteric viruses (enterovirus, rotavirus, norovirus, astrovirus and adenovirus) in the sewage of Greater Cairo and to compare the results with clinical data collected during the same period.


RESULTS
Seventy-two sewage samples from two waste water treatment plants were collected from April 2006 through February 2007. Enteroviruses, noroviruses (NoVs) and rotaviruses (RVs) were detected by RT-PCR in 22%, 18% and 8.3% of the samples, respectively. No adenovirus and astrovirus was detected. G2P[8], G9P[8], G1P[8], G2P[4] and rare G12 RV isolates were detected in the environment as well as a bovine RV. The environmental NoV strains mostly belonged to genogroup I (84%). Rotaviruses and some of the NoVs were similar to those found in the clinical samples at the same time.


CONCLUSIONS
The comparison of environmental and clinical data suggests that similar RV and NoV isolates were circulating in the environment and in the population during the same period.


CONCLUSIONS
Few studies have investigated the prevalence and the epidemiology of RVs and NoVs in Cairo. This work is the first to establish a correlation between viral gastroenteritis and the concomitant presence of enteric viruses in the environment for Greater Cairo where combined environmental and clinical surveys should help to prevent infections caused by these major pathogens.
Laboratory of Virology, National Reference Center for Enteric Viruses, Public Hospital of Dijon, Dijon, France.
A H
AH
Kamel
M A
MA
Ali
H G
HG
El-Nady
S
S
Aho
P
P
Pothier
G
G
Belliot
D000256:Adenoviridae / Q000235:genetics; D004534:Egypt; D004783:Environmental Microbiology; D005759:Gastroenteritis / Q000821:virology; D006801:Humans; D012327:RNA Virus Infections / Q000821:virology*; D012328:RNA Viruses / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification / Q000502:physiology*; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012722:Sewage / Q000821:virology*
D012722:Sewage