title: Pepper mild mottle virus as an indicator and a tracer of fecal pollution in water environments: comparative evaluation with wastewater-tracer pharmaceuticals in Hanoi, Vietnam.
abstract: We analyzed pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) in 36 samples taken from surface water, wastewater, groundwater, tap water and bottled water in Hanoi, Vietnam. We then compared the occurrence and fates of PMMoV with pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), which are known wastewater tracers. PMMoV was detected in 94% of the surface water samples (ponds, water from irrigated farmlands and rivers) and in all the wastewater samples. The PMMoV concentration ranged from 5.5×10(6)-7.2×10(6)copies/L in wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influents, 6.5×10(5)-8.5×10(5)copies/L in WWTP effluents and 1.0×10(4)-1.8×10(6)copies/L in surface water. Among the sixty PPCPs analyzed, caffeine and carbamazepine had high detection rates in surface water (100% and 88%, respectively). In surface water, the concentration ratio of PMMoV to caffeine remained unchanged than that in WWTP influents, suggesting that the persistence of PMMoV in surface water was comparable to that of caffeine. The persistence and the large concentration ratio of PMMoV in WWTP influents to the method detection limit would account for its ubiquitous detection in surface water. In comparison, human enteric viruses (HEV) were less frequently detected (18-59%) than PMMoV in surface water, probably because of their faster decay. Together with the reported high human feces-specificity, our results suggested that PMMoV is useful as a sensitive fecal indicator for evaluating the potential occurrence of pathogenic viruses in surface water. Moreover, PMMoV can be useful as a moderately conservative fecal tracer for specifically tracking fecal pollution of surface water. PMMoV was detected in 38% of the groundwater samples at low concentrations (up to 19copies/L). PMMoV was not detected in the tap water and bottled water samples. In groundwater, tap water and bottled water samples, the occurrence of PPCPs and HEV disagreed with that of PMMoV, suggesting that PMMoV is not suitable as an indicator or a tracer in those waters.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan. Electronic address: keisukekr@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Keisuke
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kuroda
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu City, Shiga 520-0811, Japan.
authors.forename: Norihide
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Nakada
authors.affiliation: Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu City, Shiga 520-0811, Japan.
authors.forename: Seiya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hanamoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors.forename: Manami
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Inaba
authors.affiliation: Department of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroyuki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Katayama
authors.affiliation: Department of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors.forename: An Thuan
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Do
authors.affiliation: Institute of Environmental Science and Engineering, National University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong, Hanoi, Viet Nam.
authors.forename: Tran Thi Viet
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Nga
authors.affiliation: Department of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors.forename: Kumiko
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Oguma
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Education and Human Studies, Akita University, 1-1 Tegata-gakuen-machi, Akita City, Akita 010-8502, Japan.
authors.forename: Takeshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hayashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Urban Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Takizawa
mesh_terms: D060766:Drinking Water / Q000737:chemistry / Q000821:virology; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D060587:Groundwater / Q000737:chemistry / Q000821:virology; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations / Q000032:analysis*; D012722:Sewage / Q000737:chemistry / Q000821:virology; D017898:Tobamovirus / Q000254:growth & development / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D014744:Vietnam; D014865:Waste Disposal, Fluid; D062065:Wastewater / Q000737:chemistry / Q000821:virology*; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*
chemical_list: D060766:Drinking Water; D004364:Pharmaceutical Preparations; D012722:Sewage; D062065:Wastewater; D014873:Water Pollutants
keywords: Caffeine; Carbamazepine; Fecal indicator; Human enteric virus; Wastewater tracer; qPCR