(The FASEB Journal. 2008;22:856.31)
© 2008 FASEB
(The FASEB Journal. 2008;22:856.31.)
© 2008 FASEB
Norovirus human infectivity, immunology, and persistence in groundwater
Juan Leon1,
Marisa McDaniels1,
G. Marshall Lyon1,
Gwen Abdulhafid1,
Melissa Dowd1,
Kizee Etienne1,
Pengbo Liu1,
Kellogg Schwabb2 and
Christine L Moe1
1 Hubert Department of Global Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA
2 Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD
ABSTRACT
Noroviruses (NoV) have been responsible for outbreaks associated with contaminated ground, surface, and recreational water. To better understand the mechanism of waterborne NoV transmission, we examined how long NoV remains infectious in water. We seeded groundwater samples with high doses (1 x 107 genomic copies) of a safety-tested Norwalk virus (NV) inoculum (8FIIb). We then challenged genetically susceptible volunteers (secretor positive) with this seeded water that was held at room temperature in the dark for various lengths of time. 13 volunteers received water with NV that had been stored for 0, 7, 14, 21, 27, and 61 days. Levels of NV RNA were stable in seeded water for over 61 days by quantitative real time RT-PCR. All time-points of seeded water induced infection (10/13) and illness in volunteers, including the water that was stored for 61 days. Duration of viral shedding varied by volunteer, and one volunteer asymptomatically shed NV for over 35 days. Only in infected volunteers did serum and salivary IgA and IgG levels increase after challenge. Inflammatory and anti-inflammatory serum cytokines rose by day 4 post-challenge in infected individuals. Our data suggest that NoV can remain viable in groundwater for over two months, can be shed asymptomatically by infected hosts for over 35 days post-challenge, and pose a serious risk to untreated or contaminated groundwater. US-EPA Grant 82911601-0.
