Analysis of sewage effluent for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) using infectivity assay and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1994. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.

Analysis of sewage effluent for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) using infectivity assay and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.

Abstr Gen Meet Am Soc Microbiol. 1994;94:415 (abstract no. Q-154). Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ASM94/94313078
Palmer CJ; Lee MH; Bonilla GF; Javier BJ; Tsai YL; Sangermano LR; Orange County Sanitation Districts, Fountain Valley, CA.

Abstract: Environmental survival of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is an important public health concern. Survival of HIV in wastewater is of particular interest to those who work at treatment facilities and to the general public who have contact with rivers or ocean water receiving treated sewage effluent. Other researchers have reported that HIV can be detected in wastewater. These studies, however, detected homologous nucleic acid sequences but did not determine infectivity. This current study tested for the presence of HIV in primary and secondary sewage from a major metropolitan sewage agency using both reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) and infectivity testing. For RT-PCR, primers SK38 and SK39 (from the HIV1 gag region) were used to amplify HIV fragments from concentrated and extracted sewage samples. Infectivity assays were completed on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) obtained from a blood donor stimulated with phytohaemagglutinin. For infectivity assays, sewage was concentrated and neutralized with human immunoglobulin (free of HIV antibody) to eliminate other viruses normally present in sewage. In addition, coxsackie B4, echo 7, and polio 1, viruses normally prevalent in sewage, were tested to determine their effect on the PBMC line. Interestingly, polio 1 was found to infect the PBMC line. This was an unexpected result. Testing of the treated sewage for the presence of HIV, however, showed that PCR and infectivity assays were negative for the presence of HIV in both primary and secondary treated sewage. HIV seeded into sewage remained infectious as detected by the PBMC coculture procedure used in this study, therefore, HIV replication may not be inhibited in sewage samples.

Keywords: DNA Primers Genes, gag Human HIV/GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT/*ISOLATION & PURIF/PATHOGENICITY Lymphocytes/MICROBIOLOGY Polymerase Chain Reaction/*METHODS *Sewage Urban Health Virulence Viruses/GROWTH & DEVELOPMENT/ISOLATION & PURIF ABSTRACT
941030
M94A0876

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