Enteric viruses in wastewaters: an interesting approach to evaluate the potential impact of rotavirus vaccination on viral circulation

Abstract

Rotavirus and norovirus are the leading causes of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. Both viruses share features such as low infectious dose, high stool concentration and prolonged survival in the environment, including water. However, they differ in several aspects, reflecting potential differences in their interactive capacities with the environment and host. This work, which is a 13-month prospective study in a developing country with high rotavirus vaccine coverage demonstrated a high (44%) PCR detection of norovirus in 84 wastewater samples compared with a relatively low (11%) detection of rotavirus. These results suggest that rotavirus circulation may be positively affected by vaccination and support the use of enteric viral detection in wastewaters as a useful tool to measure the impact of specific interventions.