Bacteriophages as indicators of enteric viruses and public health risk in groundwaters

Abstract

1. Introduction, 5 2. Direct virus detection, 6 3. Bacteriophages, 6 3.1 Somatic coliphages, 8 3.2 F+‐specific bacteriophages, 9 3.3 Bacteriophages infecting Bacteroides fragilis,14 4. Summary, 15 5. Critical issues that must be addressed, 15 6. Acknowledgements, 15 7. References, 16

Microbiological indicators of water quality in the Xochimilco canals, Mexico City

“…However, coliphage counts were as high in PE5 as they were in most samples tested, suggesting that these and enteric viruses are the most resistant to environmental conditions and water treatment methods. 16,17 The sociocultural context of the chinampas has provided agricultural continuity for the resident population, at the cost of health risks. Many households near chinampas dispose of untreated waste directly into the canals, while untreated cattle manure used as fertilizer implies exposure to pathogens such as Giardia.…”

Distribution of Coliphages Against Four E. Coli Virotypes in Hospital Originated Sewage Sample and a Sewage Treatment Plant in Bangladesh

“…In primary sedimentation tank, a relatively lower pfu/ml was documented for all the five groups of coliphages and the final outlet in the facultative lagoon contained absolutely no coliphages at all. The gradual decrease found in all the examined groups of coliphage quantity with the ongoing treatment process and then the absolute absence of coliphages in the outlet of the examined treatment plant is indicative of the usefulness of the treatment processes practiced there [20]. Over ten Lagoons, each spreading over huge surface area is there exposed to intensive sunlight due to the tropical location of the country.…”

Evaluation of the CDC safe water-storage intervention to improve the microbiological quality of point-of-use drinking water in rural communities in South Africa

“…Escherichia coli is used as the preferred indicator of faecal pollution (Edberg et al, 2000). The South African guideline value for E. coli in water intended for domestic use is 0 cfu•100 mℓ -1 (SABS, 2001).…”

“…However, viral isolation and detection methods are expensive, labour intensive and require skilled personnel. Therefore, indicator organisms such as C. perfringens, somatic and F-RNA bacteriophages were used to indicate the potential presence of pathogenic enteric viruses (Grabow et al, 1993;Leclerc et al, 2000). According to the South African guidelines, no somatic bacteriophage counts should be detected in a 10 mℓ water sample (SABS, 2001).…”