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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Occurrence of enteric viruses in reclaimed and surface irrigation water: relationship with microbiological and physicochemical indicators.

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Aims To assess the prevalence of enteric viruses in different irrigation water sources and in the irrigated produce, and the possible links with microbiological and physicochemical water characteristics. Methods and results The prevalence and levels of Escherichia coli, Norovirus (NoV) genogroup I (GI) and II (GII), as well as Hepatitis A virus were assessed in three types of water: surface water (surface-W), reclaimed water subjected to secondary treatment (secondary-W) and reclaimed water subjected to tertiary treatment (tertiary-W), as well as in zucchini irrigated with these irrigation water sources. Chemical oxygen demand (COD), turbidity, total suspended solids, alkalinity, and maximum filterable volume (MFV) were also measured in the water. Higher prevalence of NoV in secondary-W (GI 100%, GII 55.6%) and tertiary-W (GI 91.7%, GII 66.7%) compared with surface-W (GI 58.4%, GII 22.2%) was observed. Nov GI showed positive correlation with E. coli (Spearman's correlation coefficient = 0.68, P<0.01), and with some physicochemical parameters such as COD (0.52, P<0.01), turbidity (0.52, P<0.01), and MFV (0.54, P<0.01). E. coli and enteric viruses were not detected in zucchini. Conclusion There is a potential risk of contamination of crops with NoV when reclaimed water is used for irrigation. Significance and impact of the study Increase the knowledge on the prevalence of enteric viruses in different irrigation water sources, and its consequences for fresh produce safety. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.