TY - JOUR
T1 - Enteric Viruses and Pepper Mild Mottle Virus Show Significant Correlation in Select Mid-Atlantic Agricultural Waters
AU - Anderson-Coughlin, Brienna L.
AU - Craighead, Shani
AU - Kelly, Alyssa
AU - Gartley, Samantha
AU - Vanore, Adam
AU - Johnson, Gordon
AU - Jiang, Chengsheng
AU - Haymaker, Joseph
AU - White, Chanelle
AU - Foust, Derek
AU - Duncan, Rico
AU - East, Cheryl
AU - Handy, Eric T.
AU - Bradshaw, Rhodel
AU - Murray, Rianna
AU - Kulkarni, Prachi
AU - Callahan, Mary Theresa
AU - Solaiman, Sultana
AU - Betancourt, Walter
AU - Gerba, Charles
AU - Allard, Sarah
AU - Parveen, Salina
AU - Hashem, Fawzy
AU - Micallef, Shirley A.
AU - Sapkota, Amir
AU - Sapkota, Amy R.
AU - Sharma, Manan
AU - Kniel, Kalmia E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021. American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.
PY - 2021/6
Y1 - 2021/6
N2 - Enteric viruses (EVs) are the largest contributors to foodborne illnesses and outbreaks globally. Their ability to persist in the environment, coupled with the challenges experienced in environmental monitoring, creates a critical aperture through which agricultural crops may become contaminated. This study involved a 17-month investigation of select human EVs and viral indicators in nontraditional irrigation water sources (surface and reclaimed waters) in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Real-time quantitative PCR was used for detection of Aichi virus, hepatitis A virus, and norovirus genotypes I and II (GI and GII, respectively). Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), a common viral indicator of human fecal contamination, was also evaluated, along with atmospheric (air and water temperature, cloud cover, and precipitation 24 h, 7 days, and 14 days prior to sample collection) and physicochemical (dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, and turbidity) data, to determine whether there were any associations between EVs and measured parameters. EVs were detected more frequently in reclaimed waters (32% [n = 22]) than in surface waters (4% [n = 49]), similar to PMMoV detection frequency in surface (33% [n = 42]) and reclaimed (67% [n = 21]) waters. Our data show a significant correlation between EV and PMMoV (R2 = 0.628, P < 0.05) detection levels in reclaimed water samples but not in surface water samples (R2 = 0.476, P = 0.78). Water salinity significantly affected the detection of both EVs and PMMoV (P< 0.05), as demonstrated by logistic regression analyses. These results provide relevant insights into the extent and degree of association between human (pathogenic) EVs and water quality data in Mid-Atlantic surface and reclaimed waters, as potential sources for agricultural irrigation. IMPORTANCE Microbiological analysis of agricultural waters is fundamental to ensure microbial food safety. The highly variable nature of nontraditional sources of irrigation water makes them particularly difficult to test for the presence of viruses. Multiple characteristics influence viral persistence in a water source, as well as affecting the recovery and detection methods that are employed. Testing for a suite of viruses in water samples is often too costly and labor-intensive, making identification of suitable indicators for viral pathogen contamination necessary. The results from this study address two critical data gaps, namely, EV prevalence in surface and reclaimed waters of the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and subsequent evaluation of physicochemical and atmospheric parameters used to inform the potential for the use of indicators of viral contamination.
AB - Enteric viruses (EVs) are the largest contributors to foodborne illnesses and outbreaks globally. Their ability to persist in the environment, coupled with the challenges experienced in environmental monitoring, creates a critical aperture through which agricultural crops may become contaminated. This study involved a 17-month investigation of select human EVs and viral indicators in nontraditional irrigation water sources (surface and reclaimed waters) in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. Real-time quantitative PCR was used for detection of Aichi virus, hepatitis A virus, and norovirus genotypes I and II (GI and GII, respectively). Pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), a common viral indicator of human fecal contamination, was also evaluated, along with atmospheric (air and water temperature, cloud cover, and precipitation 24 h, 7 days, and 14 days prior to sample collection) and physicochemical (dissolved oxygen, pH, salinity, and turbidity) data, to determine whether there were any associations between EVs and measured parameters. EVs were detected more frequently in reclaimed waters (32% [n = 22]) than in surface waters (4% [n = 49]), similar to PMMoV detection frequency in surface (33% [n = 42]) and reclaimed (67% [n = 21]) waters. Our data show a significant correlation between EV and PMMoV (R2 = 0.628, P < 0.05) detection levels in reclaimed water samples but not in surface water samples (R2 = 0.476, P = 0.78). Water salinity significantly affected the detection of both EVs and PMMoV (P< 0.05), as demonstrated by logistic regression analyses. These results provide relevant insights into the extent and degree of association between human (pathogenic) EVs and water quality data in Mid-Atlantic surface and reclaimed waters, as potential sources for agricultural irrigation. IMPORTANCE Microbiological analysis of agricultural waters is fundamental to ensure microbial food safety. The highly variable nature of nontraditional sources of irrigation water makes them particularly difficult to test for the presence of viruses. Multiple characteristics influence viral persistence in a water source, as well as affecting the recovery and detection methods that are employed. Testing for a suite of viruses in water samples is often too costly and labor-intensive, making identification of suitable indicators for viral pathogen contamination necessary. The results from this study address two critical data gaps, namely, EV prevalence in surface and reclaimed waters of the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and subsequent evaluation of physicochemical and atmospheric parameters used to inform the potential for the use of indicators of viral contamination.
KW - Aichi virus
KW - hepatitis A virus
KW - norovirus
KW - pepper mild mottle virus
KW - reclaimed water
KW - surface water
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85108302770&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85108302770&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1128/AEM.00211-21
DO - 10.1128/AEM.00211-21
M3 - Article
C2 - 33893119
AN - SCOPUS:85108302770
SN - 0099-2240
VL - 87
JO - Applied and environmental microbiology
JF - Applied and environmental microbiology
IS - 13
M1 - e00211-21
ER -