AWWA WQTC65938

Adenoviruses are a diverse group of viruses which infect a variety of host animals. There are 51 serotypes which can infect humans, causing eye and respiratory infections, potentially severe enteric dysentery, infections of the urinary tract, and occasionally even problems in the central nervous system. Adenovirus has recently become a focus of the water treatment community because of its emerging role as a significant human pathogen and its apparent resistance to ultraviolet (UV) disinfection. Several papers have been published on UV inactivation of adenovirus and other viruses using monochromatic low pressure UV (LP UV) followed by assays of infectivity using cell culture (Gerba et al., 2002; Meng and Gerba, 1996; Thurston- Enriquez et al., 2003). Cell culture infectivity assays require using a host cell system which does not allow direct assessment of the virus itself. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technologies for investigation of DNA have also been applied to studies of adenovirus; however, these studies have involved either combinations of PCR and cell culture for tests of viral infectivity after UV treatment or simple detection of adenoviral DNA in untreated environmental samples (Choi and Jiang, 2005; Ko et al., 2005). This study examines the application of a quantitative PCR assay to directly assess damage to the adenoviral genome after UV irradiation. Methods described include: Propagation of Host Cells; Adenovirus Preparation and Enumeration; UV Irradiation; MPN plating; and, DNA Extraction and PCR. Includes 6 references, figures.