Detection of Emerging and Re-Emerging Pathogens in Surface Waters Close to an Urban Area

Stefania Marcheggiani, Emilo D'Ugo, Camilla Puccinelli, Roberto Giuseppetti, Anna Maria D'Angelo, Claudio Orlando Gualerzi, Roberto Spurio, Linda K. Medlin, Delphine Guillebault, Wilfried Weigel, Karim Helmi and Laura Mancini
Additional contact information
Stefania Marcheggiani: Environmental, Quality and Fishfarm Unit, Environment & Primary Prevention Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Emilo D'Ugo: Environmental, Quality and Fishfarm Unit, Environment & Primary Prevention Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Camilla Puccinelli: Environmental, Quality and Fishfarm Unit, Environment & Primary Prevention Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Roberto Giuseppetti: Environmental, Quality and Fishfarm Unit, Environment & Primary Prevention Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Anna Maria D'Angelo: Environmental, Quality and Fishfarm Unit, Environment & Primary Prevention Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
Claudio Orlando Gualerzi: Laboratory of Genetics, School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, MC 62032, Italy
Roberto Spurio: Laboratory of Genetics, School of Biosciences and Veterinary Medicine, University of Camerino, Camerino, MC 62032, Italy
Linda K. Medlin: Microbia Environnement, Observatoire Océanologique, 66650 Banyuls/Mer, France
Delphine Guillebault: Microbia Environnement, Observatoire Océanologique, 66650 Banyuls/Mer, France
Wilfried Weigel: SCIENION AG Volmerstr., 7b/12489 Berlin, Germany
Karim Helmi: Centre de Recherche de Saint Maurice, Immeuble le Dufy, Veolia Recherche et Innovation, 1 Place de Turenne, 94417 St Maurice Cedex, France
Laura Mancini: Environmental, Quality and Fishfarm Unit, Environment & Primary Prevention Department, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy

IJERPH, 2015, vol. 12, issue 5, 1-23

Abstract: Current knowledge about the spread of pathogens in aquatic environments is scarce probably because bacteria, viruses, algae and their toxins tend to occur at low concentrations in water, making them very difficult to measure directly. The purpose of this study was the development and validation of tools to detect pathogens in freshwater systems close to an urban area. In order to evaluate anthropogenic impacts on water microbiological quality, a phylogenetic microarray was developed in the context of the EU project µAQUA to detect simultaneously numerous pathogens and applied to samples from two different locations close to an urban area located upstream and downstream of Rome in the Tiber River. Furthermore, human enteric viruses were also detected. Fifty liters of water were collected and concentrated using a hollow-fiber ultrafiltration approach. The resultant concentrate was further size-fractionated through a series of decreasing pore size filters. RNA was extracted from pooled filters and hybridized to the newly designed microarray to detect pathogenic bacteria, protozoa and toxic cyanobacteria. Diatoms as indicators of the water quality status, were also included in the microarray to evaluate water quality. The microarray results gave positive signals for bacteria, diatoms, cyanobacteria and protozoa. Cross validation of the microarray was performed using standard microbiological methods for the bacteria. The presence of oral-fecal transmitted human enteric-viruses were detected using q-PCR. Significant concentrations of Salmonella , Clostridium , Campylobacter and Staphylococcus as well as Hepatitis E Virus (HEV), noroviruses GI (NoGGI) and GII (NoGII) and human adenovirus 41 (ADV 41) were found in the Mezzocammino site, whereas lower concentrations of other bacteria and only the ADV41 virus was recovered at the Castel Giubileo site. This study revealed that the pollution level in the Tiber River was considerably higher downstream rather than upstream of Rome and the downstream location was contaminated by emerging and re-emerging pathogens.

Keywords: oligonucleotide microarrays; emerging and re-emerging microorganisms; environmental water sample; q-PCR; concentration of water, urban areas (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2015
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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