ROTAVIRUS CONTAMINATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL WATERS OF CORDOBA, ARGENTINA

BARRIL P; PREZ V, ; GIORDANO M, ; MARTINEZ L, ; MASACHESSI G, ; RÉ V,; PAVÁN J,; NATES S

Goa

Simposio; 12th International double-stranded RNA virus Symposium; 2015

Infectious waterborne diseases are a growing public health problem, with diarrhea as the most common clinical manifestation. Among the pathogens, the enteric viruses are the major causative agents of waterborne diseases, both in developed and developing countries. In Argentina there is no law regulating the presence of viruses in aqueous matrices, and current standards for microbiological water quality, that is coliform bacteria, do not guarantee the absence of virus. The aim of this study was to analyze the presence and viral load of rotavirus, the main etiological agent of infantile gastroenteritis, in different environmental waters of Córdoba, Argentina, as well as to estimate the risk of rotavirus infection by water consumption. For this purpose, a total of 25 drinking waters and 76 surface waters (San Roque Dam n=4, Suquía River n=24 and Xanaes River n=48) were analyzed. Viruses were concentrated from the drinking waters (4000X) by filtration with negative charged membranes followed by ultracentrifugation and from the surface waters (100X) by polyethylene glycol precipitation. Virus concentrates were then analyzed by RT-quantitative PCR for rotavirus detection and quantification. Quantitative microbiological risk assessment (QMRA) was estimated for rotavirus infection by β-Poisson modeling and Monte Carlo simulation.Rotavirus contamination was found in 64% of the drinking waters that were investigated at a media concentration of 1.1 genome copies/liter (gc/L, range: 0?5.4) and in 48.7% of the surface waters. The San Roque Dam and Suquía River showed significant viral contamination with high concentrations of rotavirus (100% frequency at both; mean concentration in the Dam: 1.1x106 gc/L, range: 2x105?6.1x106; mean concentration in the Suquía: 5.2x105gc/L, range: 1.9x103?8.6x106); meanwhile the Xanaes River exhibited a lower level of viral contamination, being rotavirus sporadically detected but always in high concentrations (18.7% frequency; mean concentration: 8.5x100 gc/L, range: 0?3x106). QMRA revealed a risk of rotavirus infection of 0.23 by consuming drinking waters and 0.18 for an individual exposure to the Xanaes River waters. On the other hand, the risk of rotavirus infection in the San Roque Dam and Suquía River proved to be very high, 0.85 and 0.77 respectively. Rotavirus monitoring should be included to determine viral water quality and to alert the population about the health risk by contact with the contaminated waters. The findings of this study provide the first data for Argentina to make strategic investments to improve sanitary conditions in the local waters.