Waterborne diseases have critical public health issues and socioeconomic
relevancy worldwide. Various viral pathogens
are ordinarily associated with waterborne diseases. Six-yearsurveillance
(a total of 20 times) of norovirus, hepatitis A virus,
group C rotavirus, and enterovirus was conducted at five
raw water sampling sites including two lakes (Lakes Soyang
and Juam), Hyundo region of Geum River in Daejeon City,
and Guui region of Han River in Seoul Metropolitan City and
Moolgeum region of Nakdong River in Gimhae City which
are located near two water intake plants. In this study, we
routinely investigated virus contamination in water samples
through reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RTPCR)
and integrated cell culture RT-PCR with high sensitivity
and specificity. A total 100 samples were tested. Most of
the targeted viruses were found in 32% of the samples and
at least one of the indicator bacteria was detected in 65% of
these occurrences. Among all the detected viruses, enterovirus
was the most prevalent with a detection frequency of 12% and
2.71 MPN/10 L on average, while hepatitis A virus was the
least prevalent with a detection frequency of 4%. Nearly all
of the analyzed viruses (except for group C rotavirus) were
present in samples from Han River (the Guui region), Geum
River (the Hyundo region), Lake Juam, and Nakdong River
(the Moolgeum region), while group C rotavirus was detected
in those from the Guui region. During the six-year sampling
period, the targeted waterborne viruses in water samples exhibited
seasonal patterns in their occurrence that were different
from the indicator bacteria levels in the water samples.
The fact that they were detected in the five representative
Korean water environments makes it necessary to establish
the chemical and biological analysis systems for waterborne
viruses and sophisticated management systems.
Citations
Citations to this article as recorded by
Occurrence characteristics, removal efficiencies and potential health risks of typical viruses in rural domestic sewage: A review Yingming Zhu, Su Xu, Yu Zhou, Xuesong Guo, Yunping Han, Jun Zhan, Lin Li, Junxin Liu Journal of Water Process Engineering.2025; 69: 106611. CrossRef