Distribution of human fecal marker GB-124 bacteriophages in urban sewage and reclaimed water of Sao Paulo city, Brazil

Autor(es)

Prado, Tatiana ^[1] ; Bruni, Antonio de Castro ^[1] ; Funada Barbosa, Mikaela Renata ^[1] ; Santos Bonanno, Vilma Marques ^[1] ; Garcia, Suzi Cristina ^[1] ; Sato, Maria Ines Zanoli ^[1]

Afiliação do(s) autor(es)

^[1] Environm Co Sao Paulo State CETESB SP, Ave Prof Frederico Hermann Jr 345, BR-05459900 Sao Paulo, SP - Brazil

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: JOURNAL OF WATER AND HEALTH; v. 16, n. 2, p. 289-299, APR 2018.
• Citações Web of Science: 3

Resumo

Bacteriophages infecting Bacteroides fragilis GB-124 have been described as potential markers of human fecal contamination in water sources. The aim of this study was to evaluate the occurrence of GB-124 phages in raw sewage, secondary effluents and reclaimed water of the Sao Paulo city using a low-cost microbial source tracking method. Samples were collected monthly from April 2015 to March 2016 in four municipal wastewater treatment plants that operate with activated sludge processes followed by different tertiary treatments (sand-anthracite filtration, membrane bioreactor/ reverse osmosis) and final chlorination. GB-124 phages were detected in 100% of the raw sewage samples, with viral loads varying from 7.5 x 10(3) to 1.32 x 10(6) PFU/L. Virus removal efficiency in activated sludge processes ranged from 1.89 to 2.31 log(10). Frequencies of phage detection were lower in reclaimed water samples (0-22.2%). The results indicated that GB-124 phage could be a complementary low-cost viral marker for the detection of human fecal pollution in waters impacted with urban sewage in this region. However, the datasets of tertiary effluents resulted in several samples with concentrations below the detection limit (DL <= 1 PFU/mL) suggesting the need to obtain analytical methods with lower DL for greater accuracy of negative results. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 13/26586-1 - Vírus entéricos emergentes em águas residuárias da cidade de São Paulo: Epidemiologia e Controle Ambiental
• Beneficiário: Tatiana Prado
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Pós-Doutorado