title: Quantitative PCR Detection and Characterisation of Human Adenovirus, Rotavirus and Hepatitis A Virus in Discharged Effluents of Two Wastewater Treatment Facilities in the Eastern Cape, South Africa.
abstract: The occurrence of enteric viruses in reclaimed wastewater, their removal by efficient treatment processes and the public health hazards associated with their release into the environments are of great significance in environmental microbiology. In this study, TaqMan-based real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) was used to assess the prevalence of human adenovirus (HAdV), rotavirus (RV) and hepatitis A virus (HAV) in the final effluents of two wastewater treatment plants in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, over a twelve-month sampling period. The correlation between the concentrations of viruses in the effluents samples and faecal coliform (FC) densities were assessed as to validate the use of FC as microbiological indicator in water quality assessment. HAdV was detected in 62.5 % (30/48) of the samples with concentrations ranging between 8.4 × 101and 1.0 × 105genome copies/L while HAV and RV were only detected at concentrations below the set detection limits. FCs densities ranged from 1 to 2.7 × 104CFU/100 ml. Adenovirus species HAdV-B (serotype 2) and HAdV-F (serotype 41) were detected in 86.7 % (26/30) and 6.7 % (2/30) of the HAdV-positive samples, respectively. No consistent seasonal trend was observed in HAdV concentrations, however, increased concentrations of HAdV were generally observed in the winter months. Also, there was no correlation between the occurrence of HAdV and FC at both the treatment plants. The persistent occurrence of HAdV in the discharged treated effluents points to the potential public health risk through the release of HAdV into the receiving watersheds, and the possibility of their transmission to human population.
authors.affiliation: SAMRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa. martinstama@yahoo.com.|Applied and Environmental Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa. martinstama@yahoo.com.
authors.forename: Martins Ajibade
authors.identifier: 0000-0002-4957-4609
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Adefisoye
authors.affiliation: SAMRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa.|Applied and Environmental Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa.
authors.forename: Uchechukwu U
authors.initials: UU
authors.lastname: Nwodo
authors.affiliation: Applied and Environmental Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa.
authors.forename: Ezekiel
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Green
authors.affiliation: SAMRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa.|Applied and Environmental Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Fort Hare, Alice, 5700, South Africa.
authors.forename: Anthony Ifeanyin
authors.initials: AI
authors.lastname: Okoh
mesh_terms: D000260:Adenoviruses, Human / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D030041:Hepatitis A virus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D006801:Humans; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods*; D012401:Rotavirus / Q000145:classification / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D062065:Wastewater / Q000821:virology*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000295:instrumentation
chemical_list: D062065:Wastewater
keywords: Environmental microbiology; Human adenovirus; Public health; Wastewater; qPCR