A census of viruses through the drinking water cycle

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Waterbome viruses have a high but so far underestimated public health significance. In water monitoring and surveillance regulations, virus detection is until now not mandatory. This is reflected in the methodological repertoire available. To date, methods for detecting the various types of viruses in different types of waters (waste water, surface water, groundwater, drinking water) are insufficiently sensitive. Some of the most important waterborne viruses like noroviruses can only be detected by PCR methods. In the case of waterborne virus outbreaks, underlying circumstances and causes frequently cannot be clarified in the absence of reliable detection methodology. The same would apply to acts of biological crime or terrorism. It is thus of utmost importance to further develop methods for sensitive and reliable virus detection in different types of waters which are technically easy to accomplish in a short time, provide a sufficient concentration of a large range of viruses in a mall volume, have a high virus recovery rate, will not be too costly, and will deliver reproducible results. In this proposal methods for concentrating large volumes of water by which a large spectrum of viruses can be simultaneously detected in water samples will be developed in cooperation with individual project partners. After successful development and testing in the lab, the methods will be evaluated for its use in different waters and water treatment steps for quantitative and qualitative virus analysis.