Are viruses in recreational waters of Salta Argentina a threat to health?

H.R. POMA; L. CHÁVEZ DÍAZ; V.B. RAJAL; D. GUTIÉRREZ CACCIABUE

Salta

Simposio; III Simposio Latinoamericano de Virología Ambiental; 2016

INIQUI-UNSa

Environmental waters are intensively used by people for recreational proposes. When water is contaminated mainly by pathogens, it becomes a health risk due to a variety of waterborne diseases that can be transmitted when people come in contact with it. Although legislations have established the use of bacteria to assess water quality, they cannot ensure the presence of virus. The aim of this work was to detect and quantify viruses in recreational waters by real-time PCR (qPCR). For that, two aquatic environments: Wierna River and General Belgrano Reservoir located in Salta, Argentina, were monitored during wet season. Three different samples were taken from each environment: one before a storm, the second a day after it, and the last one a few weeks after the storm. Since viruses may be present at low concentrations, ultrafiltration was used to concentrate virus, from 20 liters of water to a final volume of 50 ml. Before concentration each sample was spiked with a known amount of the bacteriophage PP7 used as control to calculate the recovery of the process. The concentrate was used for the determination of Enterovirus, Adenovirus, and Norovirus by qPCR. Adenovirus were found in two samples from 21 concentrates. This indicates that the presence of viruses in water during the wet season may represent a threat to our health.