New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Science News
from research organizations

Tracking the viral parasites cruising our waterways

Date:
June 16, 2015
Source:
Michigan State University
Summary:
Humans aren't the only ones who like to cruise along the waterways -- viruses do too. For the first time, a map of fecal viruses traveling our global waterways has been created using modeling methods to aid in assessing water quality worldwide.
Share:
FULL STORY

Humans aren't the only ones who like to cruise along the waterways, so do viruses. For the first time, a map of fecal viruses traveling our global waterways has been created using modeling methods to aid in assessing water quality worldwide.

"Many countries are at risk of serious public health hazards due to lack of basic sanitation," said Joan Rose, Homer Nowlin Chair in water research at Michigan State University. "With this map, however, we can assess where viruses are being discharged from untreated sewage and address how disease is being spread. With that, we can design a treatment and vaccination program that can help prevent sewage-associated diseases."

The study, conducted by Rose and an international team of researchers, focused on rotavirus, a pathogen found in human sewage, which is suspected of causing more than 450,000 deaths globally each year. Rotavirus severity rates are highest among young children under two. Because the disease spreads quickly -- and via water -- a deeper understanding of the transmission of rotavirus is key to combatting it.

The modeling approach used in the study was designed to better understand the global distribution of potential viruses in water sources. The model provided a grid that helped pinpoint "hotspots" where emission sources were greatest. According to Rose, those areas can now be selected for monitoring and control programs.

"The great advantage of a modeling approach is getting a better understanding of the situation in areas where no monitoring data exist, but where we do have model input available," she said.

The study, published in the journal Pathogens, directly addresses the Sustainability Development Goals outlined by the United Nations. SDGs are being developed to extend public health goals that were not achieved by the original Millennium Development Goals set by the UN in 2000, including cutting the proportion of the global population without access to safe sanitation in half by 2015.

"Achieving the SDGs is important for reducing waterborne diseases," Rose said. "Rotavirus epitomizes the danger of these diseases and represents the ongoing effects that sewage contamination of water has on global public health."

The study is part of the Global Water Pathogens Project, an initiative led by Rose that aims to obtain a better understanding of pathogens in sewage and surface water.


Story Source:

Materials provided by Michigan State University. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


Journal Reference:

  1. Nicholas Kiulia, Nynke Hofstra, Lucie Vermeulen, Maureen Obara, Gertjan Medema, Joan Rose. Global Occurrence and Emission of Rotaviruses to Surface Waters. Pathogens, 2015; 4 (2): 229 DOI: 10.3390/pathogens4020229

Cite This Page:

Michigan State University. "Tracking the viral parasites cruising our waterways." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 June 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150616123925.htm>.
Michigan State University. (2015, June 16). Tracking the viral parasites cruising our waterways. ScienceDaily. Retrieved March 27, 2024 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150616123925.htm
Michigan State University. "Tracking the viral parasites cruising our waterways." ScienceDaily. www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/06/150616123925.htm (accessed March 27, 2024).

Explore More

from ScienceDaily

RELATED STORIES