Human adenovirus F, serotypes 40 and 41 (HAdV-40 and HAdV-41), are described as a
common cause of infantile gastroenteritis. In Brazil, domestic sewage is commonly
discharged without treatment into creeks and rivers, especially in the suburban areas.
Polluted creeks and rivers, which flow through the city of S¿o Paulo, represent a high risk for
public health. Due to frequent overflow of such waters during the rainy season, the
population that lives in those surrounding areas is constantly exposed to a high risk of
infection by many pathogens. Infectious adenovirus and rotavirus particles have been
detected year-round in such waters. Hepatitis A viruses, certainly infectious, were also
detected at the same sites. The aim of the present research was to evaluate the occurrence
of HAdV-40 and HAdV-41 in raw sewage and creek water in S¿o Paulo city. A total of 43
samples of raw sewage and sewage-polluted creek water were collected from July 1998 to
June 1999 at two different sites in the city of S¿o Paulo: Sewage Pumping Station Edu
Chaves and Creek Pirajussara, located in the north and south districts of the city, respectively.
Four-liter samples were submitted to a two-step concentration procedure based on filtration
through a microporous electropositive charged filter membrane (Zeta Plus 60S) and
ultracentrifugation. Adenoviruses were detected by PCR using the primers hexAA1885 and
hexAA1913, described by Allard et al. (1990), for the amplification of a fragment of 301 bp on
the hexon gene. The discrimination of Human adenoviruses F from all other species was
done by RFLP. Adenoviruses were detected in 25 samples (58.1%) out of 43 examined. By
using TaqI endonuclease, a first screening for specie F viruses was performed and 20
(80.0%) samples showed the presence of serotypes 40 and 41. Fragments of 301 bp could
be observed in the same samples, even after prolonged enzymatic digestion, possibly due to
the presence of other species of adenovirus than F. Five (20.0%) samples did not show F
viruses. The discrimination between HAdV-40 and HAdV-41 was performed by RsaI
endonuclease. Human adenovirus, serotype 41, was the most prevalent, being detected in
16 (64.0%) samples out of 25 samples and serotype 40 was identified only in 2 (8.0%)
samples. Four samples could not be characterized. No seasonal variation was observed.
Includes 20 references, table, figures.
| Edition : | Vol. - No. |
| File Size : | 1
file
, 150 KB |
| Note : | This product is unavailable in Ukraine, Russia, Belarus |
| Number of Pages : | 7 |
| Published : | 09/22/2002 |
