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Enteric viruses

By Ohio Water Microbiology Laboratory

Identifying the presence of specific pathogens can help understand sources of fecal contamination. Because viruses are often species-specific, monitoring for human-specific viruses (enteric viruses) can provide direct evidence of a human source.

Enteric Viruses_EAS
Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details
Filtering for enteric viruses at the Ohio Water Microbiology Laboratory, Columbus, OH
  • The OWML can analyze for enteric virus genes using qPCR: adenovirus, enterovirus, norovirus, pepper mild mottle virus, and human polyomavirus.
  • Note that qPCR is a molecular method that detects both infective and noninfective viruses.