Document 0867
 DOCN  M9480867
 TI    Analysis of sewage effluent for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) using
       infectivity assay and reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction.
 DT    9410
 AU    Palmer CJ; Lee MH; Bonilla GF; Javier BJ; Tsai YL; Sangermano LR; Orange
       County Sanitation Districts, Fountain Valley, CA.
 SO    Abstr Gen Meet Am Soc Microbiol. 1994;94:415 (abstract no. Q-154).
       Unique Identifier : AIDSLINE ASM94/94313078
 AB    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.
 DE    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  MEETING ABSTRACT

       SOURCE: National Library of Medicine.  NOTICE: This material may be
       protected by Copyright Law (Title 17, U.S.Code).