Development of a method to monitor the occurrence of torque teno virus in sources and drinking waters Conference Paper uri icon

abstract

  • The measurement of indicator organisms as an index of disease risk is accepted practice. Coliform bacteria have been used for over a century as an indicator of fecal contamination. However, outbreaks have occurred in systems with negative coliform results, and positive coliform results do not correlate well with negative health outcomes. It is widely recognized that pathogenic viruses do not behave in the environment in the same way as bacterial indicators, nor do they respond similarly to engineered treatment processes. A viral indicator may provide a more effective measure of likely health risks from infectious viruses. Torque Teno virus (TTV) is a small, unenveloped ssDNA virus first described in 1997. TTV occurs worldwide in humans, occurs in different serotypes between non-human animals and humans, does not appear to be associated with any significant morbidity, and appears to exhibit similar transport characteristics as pathogenic enteric viruses. This research is aimed at optimizing a method for monitoring TTV, a potential viral pathogen indicator in sources and drinking water. This paper reports on a PCR-based TTV detection assay that has been developed for environmental samples. The assay includes concentration via hollow fiber ultrafiltration (HFUF), secondary concentration using polyethylene glycol precipitation (PEG), nucleic acid extraction, purification of the extract to remove PCR inhibitors, and detection/ quantification using optimized traditional PCR. In our current work, we describe the assay and report on the occurrence of TTV using this assay to enumerate samples of animal feces and wastewaters from four geographical regions in the U.S. (Northeast, South, Midwest and West) to assess spatial variability and in multiple seasons to assess temporal variability. Continuing work is evaluating TTV occurrence in source and treated drinking waters. 2011 American Water Works Association AWWA WQTC Conference Proceedings All Rights Reserved.

published proceedings

  • Water Quality Technology Conference and Exposition 2011

author list (cited authors)

  • Liu, Z., Long, S. C., & Plummer, J. D.

publication date

  • January 2011