Quantification of Human Adenoviruses in European Recreational Waters

The presence of human adenoviruses (HAdV) in recreational water might cause disease in the population upon exposure. HAdV detected by PCR could also serve as indicators of the virological water quality. In order to assess the applicability of HAdV to the evaluation of the faecal contamination in European bathing waters, a real-time quantitative PCR assay was used for the quantification of HAdV in 132 samples collected from 24 different recreational marine and freshwater sites in nine European countries. Selected samples presenting positive nested PCR results for HAdV were analyzed using quantitative PCR and 80 samples from a total of 132 produced quantitative results with mean values of 3.2 × 102 per 100 ml of water, being human adenovirus 41 the most prevalent serotype between the samples where adenovirus was typified. HAdV were quantified in samples from all 15 surveillance laboratories. Statistical analysis showed no homogeneous linear relation between HAdV and E. coli, intestinal enterococci or somatic coliphages concentrations in the tested samples when considering all the data together. Significant correlations between HAdV and at least one of the other indicators were observed only when data from individual laboratories were considered. The quantification of HAdV may provide complementary information in relation to the use of bacterial standards in the control of water quality in bathing water