Contaminated water plays a key role in the transmission of enteric viruses because water is the main route by which these viruses spread in a population. Enteric viruses are transmitted in high numbers via the fecaloral route and are closely related with waterborne viral diseases. Enteric viruses have been found in rivers, groundwater, and even in treated drinking water (1, 6) and are recognized as major public health hazards. They are known to cause various human illnesses such as meningitis, encephalitis, hepatitis, respiratory illnesses, gastroenteritis, and skin rashes, and include the polioviruses, coxsackieviruses, rotaviruses, hepatitis A virus (HAV), noroviruses, adenoviruses, and reoviruses (3,8,14).The common mammalian reovirus isolates are type 1 (Lang), type 2 (Jones), and type 3 (Dearing and Abney) and have been isolated from children with diarrhea or upper respiratory infections. Reoviruses are known to have a high endemic infection rate among humans and other animals. They typically cause an asymptomatic or mild respiratory infection and gastroenteritis. Due to the resistance of reoviruses to chlorination and their high stability in water, these viruses can induce severe bacterial respiratory disease after initial reovirus infection especially in the immunocompromised, young, and old individuals (16). Many studies have examined environmental water samples for enteric viruses (5,12,13,15,17). While most virus-monitoring methods mainly target enteroviruses in water samples, we targeted reoviruses as well as other enteric viruses, including adenoviruses and HAV (20,21). Reoviruses are known to be present in water in greater numbers than enteroviruses, and have been frequently detected in surface waters either alone or associated with enteroviruses (22).The total culturable virus assay (TCVA) has been widely used as a standard method for the detection and quantification of infectious enteric viruses from environmental waters. A PCR-based assay is a powerful technique for detecting target RNA or DNA and could reduce the cost and time, and increase the detection sensitivity of a monitoring program (1, 9). However, a
Detection of Enteroviruses and Mammalian Reoviruses in Korean Environmental