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Meta-Analysis
. 2015 Jul;81(14):4669-81.
doi: 10.1128/AEM.00509-15. Epub 2015 May 1.

Meta-Analysis of the Reduction of Norovirus and Male-Specific Coliphage Concentrations in Wastewater Treatment Plants

Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Meta-Analysis of the Reduction of Norovirus and Male-Specific Coliphage Concentrations in Wastewater Treatment Plants

Régis Pouillot et al. Appl Environ Microbiol. 2015 Jul.

Abstract

Human norovirus (NoV) is the leading cause of foodborne illness in the United States and Canada. Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents impacting bivalve mollusk-growing areas are potential sources of NoV contamination. We have developed a meta-analysis that evaluates WWTP influent concentrations and log10 reductions of NoV genotype I (NoV GI; in numbers of genome copies per liter [gc/liter]), NoV genotype II (NoV GII; in gc/liter), and male-specific coliphage (MSC; in number of PFU per liter), a proposed viral surrogate for NoV. The meta-analysis included relevant data (2,943 measurements) reported in the scientific literature through September 2013 and previously unpublished surveillance data from the United States and Canada. Model results indicated that the mean WWTP influent concentration of NoV GII (3.9 log10 gc/liter; 95% credible interval [CI], 3.5, 4.3 log10 gc/liter) is larger than the value for NoV GI (1.5 log10 gc/liter; 95% CI, 0.4, 2.4 log10 gc/liter), with large variations occurring from one WWTP to another. For WWTPs with mechanical systems and chlorine disinfection, mean log10 reductions were -2.4 log10 gc/liter (95% CI, -3.9, -1.1 log10 gc/liter) for NoV GI, -2.7 log10 gc/liter (95% CI, -3.6, -1.9 log10 gc/liter) for NoV GII, and -2.9 log10 PFU per liter (95% CI, -3.4, -2.4 log10 PFU per liter) for MSCs. Comparable values for WWTPs with lagoon systems and chlorine disinfection were -1.4 log10 gc/liter (95% CI, -3.3, 0.5 log10 gc/liter) for NoV GI, -1.7 log10 gc/liter (95% CI, -3.1, -0.3 log10 gc/liter) for NoV GII, and -3.6 log10 PFU per liter (95% CI, -4.8, -2.4 PFU per liter) for MSCs. Within WWTPs, correlations exist between mean NoV GI and NoV GII influent concentrations and between the mean log10 reduction in NoV GII and the mean log10 reduction in MSCs.

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Figures

FIG 1
FIG 1
Directed acyclic graph describing the model. Data are denoted as rectangles, and unknown random variables are denoted by ellipses.
FIG 2
FIG 2
Survival-like function (solid line) and 95% confidence interval (dashed lines) for the influent (in blue) and the effluent (in red) data. Data for NoV GI, NoV GII, and MSCs are shown.
FIG 3
FIG 3
Monthly variation relative to the mean of the expected concentrations of NoV GI (black line; log10 gc/liter), NoV GII (blue line; log10 gc/liter), and MSCs (solid red line; log10 number of PFU per liter) in WWTP influent and monthly variation relative to the mean log10 reduction of MSCs (red dashed line; log10 number of PFU per liter) predicted by the model. Circles represent the medians of the posterior distributions, while segments represent the 95% CIs of the posterior distributions. As an example, the MSC mean log10 reduction was significantly lower (the month effect is positive) than the average from February to June and significantly higher than the average from August to December.

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