Human enteric viruses can be present in untreated and inadequately treated drinking water. Molecular methods, such as the reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), can detect viral genomes in a few hours, but they cannot distinguish between infectious and noninfectious viruses. Since only infectious viruses are a public health concern, methods that not only are rapid but also provide information on the infectivity of viruses are of interest. The intercalating dye propidium monoazide (PMA) has been used for distinguishing between viable and nonviable bacteria with DNA genomes, but it has not been used to distinguish between infectious and noninfectious enteric viruses with RNA genomes. In this study, PMA in conjunction with RT-PCR (PMA-RT-PCR) was used to determine the infectivity of enteric RNA viruses in water. Coxsackievirus, poliovirus, echovirus, and Norwalk virus were rendered noninfectious or inactivated by treatment with heat (72°C, 37°C, and 19°C) or hypochlorite. Infectious or native and noninfectious or inactivated viruses were treated with PMA. This was followed by RNA extraction and RT-PCR or quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. The PMA-RT-PCR results indicated that PMA treatment did not interfere with detection of infectious or native viruses but prevented detection of noninfectious or inactivated viruses that were rendered noninfectious or inactivatedby treatment at 72°C and 37°C and by hypochlorite treatment. However, PMA-RT-PCR was unable to prevent detection of enteroviruses that were rendered noninfectious by treatment at 19°C. After PMA treatment poliovirus that was rendered noninfectious by treatment at 37°C was undetectable by qRT-PCR, but PMA treatment did not affect detection of Norwalk virus. PMA-RT-PCR was also shown to be effective for detecting infectious poliovirus in the presence of noninfectious virus and in an environmental matrix. We concluded that PMA can be used to differentiate between potentially infectious and noninfectious viruses under the conditions defined above.

The free-living amoeba Naegleria fowleri was identified as the etiological agent of primary amoebic meningoencephalitis that caused the deaths of two children in Peoria, Arizona, in autumn of 2002. It was suspected that the source of N. fowleri was the domestic water supply, which originates from ground water sources. In this study, ground water from the greater Phoenix Metropolitan area was tested for the presence of N. fowleri using a nested polymerase chain reaction approach. Phylogenetic analyses of 16S rRNA sequences of bacterial populations in the ground water were performed to examine the potential link between the presence of N. fowleri and bacterial groups inhabiting water wells. The results showed the presence of N. fowleri in five out of six wells sampled and in 26.6% of all ground water samples tested. Phylogenetic analyses showed that beta- and gamma-proteobacteria were the dominant bacterial populations present in the ground water. Bacterial community analyses revealed a very diverse community structure in ground water samples testing positive for N. fowleri.