Presence of Viral Genomes in Mineral Water: a Sufficient Condition To Assume Infectious Risk?

Abstract

Appropriate interpretation of a positive reverse transcription-PCR is an important issue for virus-related health hazard assessment because viral genomes and infectious viruses exhibit different behavior patterns in water. In this context, using Poliovirus 1 and Feline calicivirus f9 as examples of enteric viruses, first we demonstrated that the stability of infectious viruses is greatly affected by the temperature of mineral water (10, 20, and 35°C) and that, in contrast, temperature has little effect on the corresponding genomes. Second, we demonstrated that infectious particles are degraded more rapidly than viral genomes at all temperatures studied. At 35°C, Poliovirus 1 infectivity was reduced 4 logs after only 19 days, while an equivalent reduction would have taken 75 years (according to the model applied) for the viral genome. Contradictory conclusions can also be drawn concerning the sensitivity of viral serotypes depending on whether the infectious virus or the viral genome is considered. The Feline calicivirus f9 genome is more resistant than the Poliovirus 1 genome, whereas the opposite is true for the corresponding infectious viruses. Thus, we concluded that a positive test for a viral genome in mineral water must be interpreted with utmost caution because of the lack of a correlation between the presence of viral genomes and viral infectivity. Detection of viral genomes may be necessary to identify infectious risk for the human population, but it cannot be considered sufficient.

Enteroviruses and Bacteriophages in Bathing Waters

“…First, the detection of viral genomes in water by PCR or RT-PCR methods does not provide information about the infectivity of the viruses in question, although some methods that may help to circumvent this problem are arising (37). This impedes a meaningful risk evaluation if positive results are obtained (14). Second, the high sensitivity of these techniques needed in environmental studies is likely to contribute PCR artifacts (cross-and carryover contamination, nonspecific amplification, inhibition by environmental inhibitors of reverse transcriptase and DNA polymerase, etc.).…”

One-year monthly survey of rotavirus, astrovirus and norovirus in three sewage treatment plants in Beijing, China and associated health risk assessment

“…It was highly infectious (Parashar et al 2003) and has been widely used as a representative organism for enteric viruses in risk assessment of wastewater reuse (Hamilton et al 2006;Seidu et al 2008). Detection of viral genomes may be considered insufficient to identify infectious risk for the human population (Gassilloud et al 2003;Rutjes et al 2009). In this study, it was assumed that 1/1000 of rotavirus genomes detected were infectious rotavirus particles though it may underestimate the health risks (Rutjes et al 2009).…”

Analytical Methods for Virus Detection in Water and Food

“…Recently, the use of a nonpathogenic viruses, mengovirus MC0 (Mattison et al 2009) and feline calicivirus (Butot et al 2008;Cannon et al 2006;Hewitt and Greening 2004;Pintó et al 2009), have been proposed as process control, although the latter has been reported to be an inappropriate surrogate for NoV in acid conditions (Pintó et al 2009). Quantitative standardized procedures presently enable to perform quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) in food samples (Gassilloud et al 2003;Arnal et al 1998). …”