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This report describes a recently developed method for the quantitative detection of enteroviruses in estuarine sediments. The method involves the elution of enteroviruses adsorbed to sediment with a solution of 0.05 M ethylenediaminetetraacetate (pH 11.0). The volume of the eluate is then reduced by membrane filter adsorption-elution into an economically assayable volume (30 to 50 ml). In laboratory experiments poliovirus type 1 (strain LSc) could be recovered from 400-ml volumes of wet sediment with an overall efficiency of 50 percent. Using this method enteroviruses were recovered from sediments of coastal areas receiving sewage discharges in both Texas and Florida. These field studies indicated a 10- to 10 000-fold greater concentration of enteroviruses in the sediment than in the overlying water on a volume basis. In laboratory studies, enteroviruses were found to survive longer in estuarine sediments than in estuarine water.

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