Abstract: Detection and Characterizaton of Norovirus in Drinking and Reclaimed Water Implicated in a Gastroenteritis Outbreak after the Chilean Earhquake (2011 SACNAS National Conference)

Friday, October 28, 2011

Room A2/A7 (San Jose Convention Center)

Roberto Marrero-Ortiz, Ph.D. , Microbiology, Food and Drug Administration, Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory, Dauphin Island, AL

Viviana Cachicas, MS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Santiago, Chile

Gary Hartman, BS , Microbiology, Food and Drug Administraton, San Franciso Branch, Office of Regulatory Affairs, Alameda, CA

Joey Marchandt, MS , Microbiology, Food and Drug Administration, Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory, Dauphin Island, AL

Monica Jara, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Santiago, Chile

Leonor Castillo, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Antofagasta, Chile

Alicia Araya, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Antofagasta, Chile

Manuel Cortes, MD , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Antofagasta, Chile

Nicolas Ferreira, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Santiago, Chile

Diego Belmar, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Santiago, Chile

Leonardo Farias, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Santiago, Chile

Pasme Herrera, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Antofagasta, Chile

Javier Mena, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Antofagasta, Chile

David Fuentes, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Santiago, Chile

Hector Galeno, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Antofagasta, Chile

Lissette Munoz, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Santiago, Chile

Javier Tognarelli, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Santiago, Chile

Jorge Fernandez, BS , Microbiologia, Instituto de Salud Publica, Santiago, Chile

William Burkhardt III, Ph.D. , Microbiology, Food and Drug Administration, Gulf Coast Seafood Laboratory, Dauphin Island, AL

After a major earthquake in south-Chile, the city of Antofagasta in the north suffered its largest recorded gastroenteritis outbreak in March, 2010. It soon became a rapidly spreading epidemic with a large number of cases. The objective of this project was to detect and characterize enteric viruses from contaminated drinking and reclaimed water from different sources in Antofagasta.

From each station, both influent and effluent samples were collected from its water treatment plant (WTP), desalinization water treatment plant (DWTP), and a reclaimed waste water treatment plant (WWTP). Water sample were concentrated by tangential flow filtration using 30 KDa polysulfone filter. Multiplex RTqPCR for norovirus (NoV) GI and norovirus GII was carried-out.

NoV GII was detected in influent samples collected from WTP, DWTP, and WWTP. NoV GI was not detected in any water samples. Effluent water samples analyzed from WTP and DWTP were negative, indicating the effectiveness of the water treatment plants in Antofagasta city after the earthquake. However, the effluent water sample from the WWTP was positive for NoV GII suggesting a possible source of contamination since this water was used for irrigation purposes. Norovirus GII sequences from DWTP and WTP isolates were not related to the clinical isolates, but isolates positive for GII from the WWTP influent and effluent showed 96and 94% identity with some of the clinical isolates.

The results confirmed the epidemiological findings of the Ministry of Health, which implied that ineffective chlorine treatment of reclaimed waste water leads to the exposure of produce to NoV contamination.