title: Investigating the role of Acanthamoeba polyphaga in protecting Human Adenovirus from water disinfection treatment.
abstract: Human adenoviruses are responsible for a wide range of clinical infections and are present in aquatic environments, including river, seawater, drinking-water and sewage. Free-living amoebae (Acanthamoeba) in the same environments may internalize them and other microorganisms can act as a reservoir for the internalized viruses. In this study, we studied the interaction between Acanthamoeba polyphaga and Human Adenovirus type 5 (HAdV 5) to determine whether the amoeba played a role in protecting the internalized viruses from chemical disinfection. The efficacy of sodium hypochlorite disinfection against A. polyphaga and HAdV 5 either singly or in combination was assessed at three different concentrations. Individually, the amoeba were more resistant to chemical disinfection than HAdV 5 and remained alive after exposure to 5mg/l of sodium hypochlorite. In contrast, HAdV 5 lost infectivity following exposure to 2.5mg/l of sodium hypochlorite. When the amoeba and HAdV 5 were co-cultured, infectious virus was found in the cytoplasm of the amoeba at 5mg/l disinfectant concentration. These findings suggest that the A. polyphaga is providing protection for the HAdV 5.
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Virology, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy. Electronic address: marco.verani@unipi.it.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Verani
authors.affiliation: Protistology-Zoology Unit, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Graziano
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Di Giuseppe
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Virology, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Carmine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Tammaro
authors.affiliation: Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Virology, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
authors.forename: Annalaura
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Carducci
mesh_terms: D000048:Acanthamoeba / Q000187:drug effects / Q000821:virology*; D000260:Adenoviruses, Human / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology*; D003593:Cytoplasm / Q000821:virology; D004202:Disinfectants / Q000494:pharmacology; D050296:Microbial Viability / Q000187:drug effects; D012973:Sodium Hypochlorite / Q000494:pharmacology; D018508:Water Purification
chemical_list: D004202:Disinfectants; D012973:Sodium Hypochlorite
keywords: Acanthamoeba polyphaga; Co-culture; Disinfection; Human adenovirus