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. 2025 Feb;97(2):e70251.
doi: 10.1002/jmv.70251.

Detection of Measles Virus Genotype D8 in Wastewater of the Brussels Capital Region, Belgium

Annabel Rector  1 , Mandy Bloemen  1 , Bart Hoorelbeke  2 , Marc Van Ranst  1   3 , Elke Wollants  1
Affiliations

Detection of Measles Virus Genotype D8 in Wastewater of the Brussels Capital Region, Belgium

Annabel Rector et al. J Med Virol. 2025 Feb.

Abstract

We analyzed wastewater from Belgian treatment plants to look for measles virus. Genotype D8 was identified in Brussels North samples, matching sequences from 15 regional measles cases. Finding measles virus in wastewater can suggest undetected virus transmission. Wastewater surveillance is a valuable tool for identifying viral circulation and supporting public health interventions against outbreaks.

Keywords: genotyping; measles virus; public health; wastewater based epidemiology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Evolutionary analyses were conducted using the 450 nucleotides coding for the C‐terminal 150 amino acids of the measles virus nucleoprotein. The phylogenetic tree includes the sequence found in wastewater of BXL‐N (BXL_Aquiris_08‐MAR‐2024) indicated by a dot, the WHO reference sequences indicated in bold (provided by CDC) and the 15 positive patient samples detected in the Brussels region in March 2024 (provided by Sciensano) and the Romanian strain retrieved from GenBank.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Measles, “Annual Epidemiological Report for 2023. Surveillance Report,” 2024.
    1. WHO Regional Office for Africa , “Weekly Bulletin on Outbreaks and Other Emergencies,” Week 8 (February 2024): 19–25.
    1. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, “Communicable Disease Threats Report Week 11,” Weekly Bulletin, March 10–16, 2024.
    1. Rector A., Bloemen M., Thijssen M., et al., “Respiratory Viruses in Wastewater Compared With Clinical Samples, Leuven, Belgium,” Emerging Infectious Diseases 30, no. 1 (2024): 141–145. - PMC - PubMed