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Assessment of microbial parameters as indicators of viral contamination of aerosol from urban sewage treatment plants
Author(s) -
Carducci A.,
Gemelli C.,
Cantiani L.,
Casini B.,
Rovini E.
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
letters in applied microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.698
H-Index - 110
eISSN - 1472-765X
pISSN - 0266-8254
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2672.1999.00503.x
Subject(s) - coliphage , contamination , sewage , aerosol , indicator bacteria , bacteria , biology , sewage treatment , aeration , indicator organism , environmental science , microbiology and biotechnology , environmental chemistry , fecal coliform , environmental engineering , chemistry , bacteriophage , ecology , escherichia coli , water quality , biochemistry , genetics , organic chemistry , gene
In order to evaluate possible indicators of viral aerosol contamination in sewage treatment plants, a year‐long study was carried out on the relationships between the presence of cytopathogenic viruses and the counts of total bacteria, faecal streptococci and somatic coliphages in samples collected at various distances from the aerosol source (aeration tank). The activated sludge plant studied proved to be a significant source of microbe‐bearing aerosol with high levels of viral contamination. When the virus was found in sewage, it was also found in the air, at least in the sites closest to the aeration tank. With regard to the possibility of using the chosen parameters as markers of viral contamination, the total bacteria and faecal streptococci counts were generally positively correlated with viral presence, while coliphage counts yielded no analogous relationship.