Research

Viral indicators for fecal contamination - a one-year viral metagenomic study of treatment efficiency in danish waste water treatment plants

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Abstract

Viral pathogens in irrigation water are a major threat to public health due to their possibility to cause disease in humans. When using reclaimed water for irrigation it is therefore important to make sure that the water is free from pathogens which can contaminate the crops. In this study we are therefore using metagenomics sequencing with the aim to map the viriome in different water sources. In addition we investigate the possibility to use Human Adenovirus (HAdV) or JC Polyomavirus (JCPyV) as indicator for human fecal contamination. Water has been sampled monthly throughout the treatment process from two urban waste water treatment plants in Copenhagen. All samples are investigated for their viral content and the presence of pathogens by metagenomic sequencing and analyzed specifically for HAdV, JCPyV, norovirus GI and GII (NoV GI and GII) using quantitative (q)PCR. Preliminary qPCR results showed that the average concentration for HAdV within a sample is higher than the average concentration of NoV GI and GII. HAdV could therefore be a good indicator for human fecal contamination in water. The initial analysis of the metagenomic data identifies viruses in all water sources. However, the number of identified pathogenic viral species decreases with treatment of the waste water. Further bioinformatic analyses will investigate the seasonal variations of viral composition within a sample as well as the effect of the treatment system. Updated qPCR and metagenomics data will be presented.