Suitability of some viruses as indices of viral pollution of water

Abstract

Water quality is of great importance for public health. Any defect in water treatment may lead to the presence of pathogens such as pathogenic bacteria and viruses in different types of water such as drinking or irrigation water. Traditional regulations (usually used to determine water quality from a microbiological point of view) became non-sufficient because Coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and Coliphages are not sufficient as indicators of water quality. They do not express accurately the presence/absence of enteric viruses. Any mistake in the estimation of the presence/absence of enteric viruses in water samples may lead to a big threat to human health. However, enteric viruses cause many diseases such as hepatitis, gastroenteritis, conjunctivitis, myocarditis, fever, rash, and may be diabetes. So, it is necessary to find viral indices to express correctly the presence/absence of enteric viruses in drinking water samples. Several scientific types of research were done to investigate viral indices expressing the viral pollution of the water. The objective of this review is to estimate the most suitable viral index/indices to express the viral pollution of water.