title: Detection and distribution of culturable Human Enteroviruses through environmental surveillance in Milan, Italy.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Human Enteroviruses (HEVs) infections have a significant impact on public health, being implicated in outbreaks of meningitis, encephalitis, hand-foot-mouth disease and other acute and chronic manifestation. In the strategic plan for poliomyelitis eradication, the environmental surveillance of poliovirus (PV) has been identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as an activity that can complement the surveillance of polio. Having wastewater samples available for PV surveillance allows us to study nonpolio enteroviruses (NPEVs) circulating in the study population, which are widely spread.
  
  
  RESULTS
  This study was carried out according to the WHO guidelines for environmental surveillance of PV and analysed the circulation of PV and NPEVs through the isolation of viruses in cell cultures in Milan area; from 2006 to 2010, 321 wastewater samples were collected, regularly over time, at the inlet of three diverse waste water treatment plants (WWTPs). Culturable HEVs were isolated in 80% of sewage samples: all isolates belonged to the HEV-B group and those circulating more intensely were CVB5 and Echo 6, while CVB4 was the predominant serotype found in 2010. In this study, two type 2 PVs were isolated, both characterized as Sabin like.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Environmental monitoring of HEVs in Milan has proved to be an interesting tool to investigate the circulation and distribution of viruses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The detection of PV and other NPEV could be predictive of possible re-emergence of these viruses with an impact on public health. NPEV monitoring could also be a powerful public health tool to investigate the possible role of NPEV in different clinical manifestations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biomedical Sciences for Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pellegrinelli
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Binda
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Chiaramonte
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Primache
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Battistone
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Fiore
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gambino
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bubba
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Barbi
mesh_terms: D002460:Cell Line; D004770:Enterovirus / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D004784:Environmental Monitoring; D006801:Humans; D007558:Italy; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012722:Sewage / Q000821:virology*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000821:virology*
chemical_list: D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater
keywords: CVB; NPEV; PV eradication; echo