title: Global occurrence and emission of rotaviruses to surface waters.
abstract: Group A rotaviruses (RV) are the major cause of acute gastroenteritis in infants and young children globally. Waterborne transmission of RV and the presence of RV in water sources are of major public health importance. In this paper, we present the Global Waterborne Pathogen model for RV (GloWPa-Rota model) to estimate the global distribution of RV emissions to surface water. To our knowledge, this is the first model to do so. We review the literature to estimate three RV specific variables for the model: incidence, excretion rate and removal during wastewater treatment. We estimate total global RV emissions to be 2 × 1018 viral particles/grid/year, of which 87% is produced by the urban population. Hotspot regions with high RV emissions are urban areas in densely populated parts of the world, such as Bangladesh and Nigeria, while low emissions are found in rural areas in North Russia and the Australian desert. Even for industrialized regions with high population density and without tertiary treatment, such as the UK, substantial emissions are estimated. Modeling exercises like the one presented in this paper provide unique opportunities to further study these emissions to surface water, their sources and scenarios for improved management.
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. kiuliani@msu.edu.|Enteric Viruses Research Group, Institute of Primate Research, P.O Box 24481, 00502 Karen, Nairobi, Kenya. kiuliani@msu.edu.
authors.forename: Nicholas M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Kiulia
authors.affiliation: Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands. nynke.hofstra@wur.nl.
authors.forename: Nynke
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hofstra
authors.affiliation: Environmental Systems Analysis Group, Wageningen University, P.O. Box 47, 6700 AA, Wageningen, The Netherlands. lucie.vermeulen@wur.nl.
authors.forename: Lucie C
authors.initials: LC
authors.lastname: Vermeulen
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. maureenobara@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Maureen A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Obara
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Civil Engineering and Geosciences, Delft University of Technology, P.O. Box 5048, 2600 GA, Delft, the Netherlands. gertjan.medema@kwrwater.nl.|KWR Watercycle Research Institute, Groningenhaven 7, 3433 PE, Nieuwegein, The Netherlands. gertjan.medema@kwrwater.nl.
authors.forename: Gertjan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Medema
authors.affiliation: Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University East Lansing, MI 48824, USA. rosejo@msu.edu.
authors.forename: Joan B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Rose
keywords: contamination; emission; feces; global; modeling; rotavirus; sanitation; sewage