Occurrence of human adenoviruses in a beach area of Guarujá, São Paulo, Brazil

Abstract

Along the coastal zone of the State of São Paulo, Brazil, diffuse discharges that flow directly to tourist beaches are responsible for introducing various pathogens into recreational waters. The objective of this study was to analyze, for the first time, the presence of protozoa (Cryptosporidium ssp and Giardia ssp), as well as human mastadenoviruses (HAdV–species C and F) and other species of adenoviruses (AdV) in beach drainage channels of Enseada and Perequê, municipality of Guarujá, São Paulo, Brazil. Protozoa were not detected in any sample over the course of the 11‐month study. In relation to HAdVs, 100% (n = 22) of the water samples presented contamination by at least one type of virus (C, D, or F species), suggesting potential risks to the public health following recreational exposure of beach users to these waters. Practitioner points First report on the presence of human adenoviruses in urban drainage channels in the coast of São Paulo State, Brazil. Urban surface water runoff is responsible for introducing human adenoviruses linked to disease outbreaks in areas of intense recreation. Cryptosporidium oocysts and Giardia cysts were below the limit of detection for all analyzed samples. However, all sites were positive for at least one of the viral species (HAdV–C, HAdV–D, or HAdV–F). Viral loads found in the water were similar to those commonly found in the wastewater.

Assessment of the water and sediments quality around the coastal submarine sewage outfall in Guarujá, São Paulo, Brazil

“…This study was carried out in sub basin-13, island of Santo Amaro, Guarujá, microregion of Santos, São Paulo State, Brazil. It is an area with 316,000 inhabitants (Ibge, 2018) and 143 km 2 and 64 km of extension, of which 107 km 2 is made up of environmental protection areas and 36 km 2 of urbanised areas (Ribeiro and Oliveira, 2015;Roveri et al, 2020c).…”

“…On the island of Santo Amaro, there are two distinct seasonal periods: one rainy season from November to March, and a dry season that occurs from April to October (Cetesb, 2017;Roveri et al, 2020c). The annual precipitation of the region ranges between 2.500 and 3.000 mm, and the annual mean temperature is 22°C (Cetesb, 2017;Roveri et al, 2020c).…”

“…On the island of Santo Amaro, there are two distinct seasonal periods: one rainy season from November to March, and a dry season that occurs from April to October (Cetesb, 2017;Roveri et al, 2020c). The annual precipitation of the region ranges between 2.500 and 3.000 mm, and the annual mean temperature is 22°C (Cetesb, 2017;Roveri et al, 2020c). The municipality's economy is mainly driven by three activities; two of which are non-seasonal, occurring in the western portion of the island and characterised by trade in the district of Vicente de Carvalho and by port-related activities in the Santos port (the largest in Latin America).…”

“…The municipality's economy is mainly driven by three activities; two of which are non-seasonal, occurring in the western portion of the island and characterised by trade in the district of Vicente de Carvalho and by port-related activities in the Santos port (the largest in Latin America). A third activity, which takes place in the eastern and southern portions of the island, is tourism, providing economic benefits to locals in 26 beaches and almost doubling the number of inhabitants, especially during the high summer season (between December and February) (Ribeiro and Oliveira, 2015;Cetesb, 2017;Roveri et al, 2020c).…”

Development of environmental biotechnology and control of emerging biological contaminants: the grand challenge for a sustainable future

“…Among all papers published on this issue, the editor's choice fell on the research entitled "Occurrence of human adenoviruses in a beach area of Guarujá, São Paulo, Brazil" (Roveri, Guimarães, Correia, Demoliner, & Spilki, 2020 The results underline the presence of HAdVs, suggesting potential risks to public health. This work, in addition to other recently published work in the same field (Corpuz et al, 2020), shows the importance of the study of viruses in water media and the global need for further research on the main hotspots of EBCs in ecosystems, especially in areas with a significant presence of tourists.…”