Presence of rotavirus and free-living amoebae in the water supplies of Karachi, Pakistan

Abstract

Rotavirus and pathogenic free-living amoebae are causative agents of important health problems, especially for developing countries like Pakistan where the population has limited access to clean water supplies. Here, we evaluated the prevalence of rotavirus and free-living amoebae (Acanthamoeba spp., Balamuthia mandrillaris, Naegleria fowleri) in drinking water supplies of Karachi, Pakistan. Six water filtration plants that supply drinking water to the population of Karachi were investigated. Additionally, drinking water samples from households were analyzed for the presence of rotavirus and free-living amoebae. Rotavirus was present in 35% of the water samples collected from water filtration plants; however, domestic tap water samples had a prevalence of only 5%. Out of 20 water samples from filtration plants, 13 (65%) were positive for Acanthamoeba spp., and one (5%) was positive for B. mandrillaris. Out of 20 drinking water samples collected from different areas of Karachi, 35% were positive for Acanthamoeba spp. Rotavirus was detected in 5% of the drinking water samples tested. Overall, these findings showed for the first time the presence of rotavirus, in addition to pathogenic free-living amoebae in drinking water supplies of Karachi that could be an important public health risk for the affected population.

Genotyping and interaction-reality of Acanthamoeba, enteric adenovirus and rotavirus in drinking water, Egypt.

“…Previous reports have been indicated that Acanthamoeba not internalize poliovirus, vesicular stomatitis virus or echoviruses (Danes and Cerva, 1981;Mattana et al, 2006). Recently, Mimivirus and adenovirus were identified from Acanthamoeba (Scheid and Schwarzenberger, 2012;Yousuf et al, 2017). Because Acanthamoeba and adenovirus or Acanthamoeba and rotavirus, could be detected in the same water sample, we hypothesized that there might be a role for Acanthamoeba in transmission of adenovirus or rotavirus.…”

“…Free-living amoebae have been reported to feed by phagocytosis on bacteria, fungi, and algae (Król-Turmińska and Olender, 2017;Chen et al, 2018). According to the previous reports (Scheid and Schwarzenberger, 2012;Yousuf et al, 2017), Acanthamoeba might serve as an environmental reservoir for viruses living in the same environment, such as mimivirus, coxsackievirus and adenovirus. In light of the fact that viruses can become internalized within Acanthamoeba, this is the first study to investigate the transmission of adenovirus and rotavirus via waterborne' Acanthamoeba in Egypt.…”

Molecular characterization of rotavirus Group A VP6 gene in Egyptian surface water, wastewater and diarrheal specimens

“…All of the RoV outbreaks have been associated with direct fecal contamination of untreated, compromised water supply or suboptimal treatment of drinking water. RoV have been detected in surface waters worldwide (Gerba, 1999;Tort et al, 2015;Yousuf et al, 2017). Surface water receiving untreated wastewater effluent; have been reported to contain the highest concentrations of viral pathogens (Griffin et al, 2003).…”

Isolation and identification of free-living amoeba from the hot springs and beaches of the Caspian Sea

“…The plates were sealed with parafilm and then incubated at 35 °C for 30 days. Each sample was examined daily by the inverted microscopy to detect trophozoites or cysts of FLA ( Yousuf et al, 2017 ).…”