Exploring adenovirus in water environments: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Adenoviruses (AdVs) have a significant impact in both medical and environmental contexts. The objective of this study was to investigate the prevalence of AdV in different water types, such as untreated and treated wastewater, surface water, groundwater, drinking water, and other water matrices. A total of 239 articles were included in this meta-analysis. Adenoviruses were detected in various waters worldwide. The overall prevalence in water was found to be 59.2%, with the highest prevalence in untreated wastewater (83.1%) and treated wastewater (75.3%), followed by "other water matrices" (53.4%), surface water (49.5%) drinking water (22.7%), and groundwater (18.5%). Most of the studies did not assess the viability of the viruses, leading to weak links between water contamination and risk. Both human and animal AdV were found in water environments. The findings suggest that water, including drinking water, could be a significant route of AdV transmission in both developed and developing economies.

Electronic and optical properties of pristine, N- and S-doped water-covered TiO2 nanotube surfaces.

For rational design and improvement of electronic and optical properties of water-splitting photocatalysts, the ability to control the band edge positions relative to the water redox potentials and the photoresponse as a function of environmental conditions is essential. We combine ab initio molecular dynamics simulations with ab initio many-body theoretical calculations to predict the bandgap and band edge energies, as well as the absorption spectrum of pristine and N- and S-doped TiO2 nanotubes using the DFT+U and G0W0 approaches. Both levels of theory show similar trends, and N+S-codoping appears to be the optimal system for photocatalytic water splitting both in dry and humid conditions. However, the effect is rather moderate. Compared to DFT+U, the enhanced many-body effects in the G0W0 calculations push the absolute energies of the band edges to higher values and yield increased quasi-particle bandgaps in better agreement with experiment. In dry and humid conditions, the electronic bandgap for all systems is found to be in the range of 6.0-6.2 eV with a redshift from electronic gap to optical gap. The absorption spectra show an optical anisotropy and different absorption thresholds for different light polarizations.

Chikungunya virus infection prevalence in Africa: a contemporaneous systematic review and meta-analysis.

OBJECTIVES: The (re)emergence of chikungunya virus (CHIKV) in Africa requires better knowledge on the epidemiology of CHIKV infection in the continent for efficient public health strategies. We aimed to describe the epidemiology of CHIKV infection in Africa, a neglected tropical disease (NTD). STUDY DESIGN: This was a systematic review with meta-analysis of studies reporting CHIKV infection prevalence. We searched Embase, PubMed, Africa Journal Online and Global Index Medicus to identify observational studies published from January 2000 to September 2017. METHODS: We used a random-effect model to pool the prevalence of CHIKV infections reported with their 95% confidence interval (CI). Heterogeneity was assessed via the Chi-squared test on Cochran's Q statistic. Review registration is in PROSPERO CRD42017080395. RESULTS: A total of 39 studies (37,881 participants; 18 countries) were included. No study was reported from Southern Africa. Thirty-two (82.0%), seven (18.0%) and no studies had low, moderate and high risk of bias, respectively. Outside outbreak periods, the pooled immunoglobulin M (IgM) and immunoglobulin G (IgG) seroprevalence was 9.7% (95% CI 3.0-19.6; 16 studies) and 16.4% (95% CI 9.1-25.2; 23 studies), respectively. The IgM seroprevalence was lower in Northern Africa, and there was no difference for IgG prevalence across regions in Africa. The IgM and IgG seroprevalences were not different between acute and non-acute febrile participants. The seroprevalence was not associated with GPS coordinates (latitude, longitude and altitude). CONCLUSIONS: Although considered a NTD, we find high prevalence of CHIKV infection in Africa. As such, chikungunya fever should deserve more attention from healthcare providers, researchers, policymakers and stakeholders from many sectors.

A systematic review of influenza virus in water environments across human, poultry, and wild bird habitats.

Influenza, a highly contagious acute respiratory disease, remains a major global health concern. This study aimed to comprehensively assess the prevalence of influenza virus in different aquatic environments. Using 43 articles from four databases, we thoroughly examined water matrices from wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) and other human environments, as well as poultry habitats and areas frequented by migratory wild birds. In WTP influents (10 studies), positivity rates for influenza A ranged from 0.0 % to 97.6 %. For influenza B (8 studies), most studies reported no positivity, except for three studies reporting detection in 0.8 %, 5.6 %, and 46.9 % of samples. Within poultry habitats (13 studies), the prevalence of influenza A ranged from 4.3 % to 76.4 %, while in environments frequented by migratory wild birds (11 studies), it ranged from 0.4 % to 69.8 %. Geographically, the studies were distributed as follows: 39.5 % from the Americas, 18.6 % from Europe, 2.3 % from South-East Asia and 39.5 % from the Western Pacific. Several influenza A subtypes were found in water matrices, including avian influenza (H3N6, H3N8, H4N1, H4N2, H4N6, H4N8, H5N1, H5N8, H6N2, H6N6, H7N9, H0N8, and H11N9) and seasonal human influenza (H1N1 and H3N2). The existing literature indicates a crucial requirement for more extensive future research on this topic. Specifically, it emphasizes the need for method harmonization and delves into areas deserving of in-depth research, such as water matrices pertaining to pig farming and prevalence studies in low-income countries.

A State-of-the-Art Scoping Review on SARS-CoV-2 in Sewage Focusing on the Potential of Wastewater Surveillance for the Monitoring of the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The outbreak of coronavirus infectious disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly spread throughout the world. Several studies have shown that detecting SARS-CoV-2 in untreated wastewater can be a useful tool to identify new outbreaks, establish outbreak trends, and assess the prevalence of infections. On 06 May 2021, over a year into the pandemic, we conducted a scoping review aiming to summarize research data on SARS-CoV-2 in sewage. Papers dealing with raw sewage collected at wastewater treatment plants, sewer networks, septic tanks, and sludge treatment facilities were included in this review. We also reviewed studies on sewage collected in community settings such as private or municipal hospitals, healthcare facilities, nursing homes, dormitories, campuses, airports, aircraft, and cruise ships. The literature search was conducted using the electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE, and Web Science Core Collection. This comprehensive research yielded 1090 results, 66 of which met the inclusion criteria and are discussed in this review. Studies from 26 countries worldwide have investigated the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage of different origin. The percentage of positive samples in sewage ranged from 11.6 to 100%, with viral concentrations ranging from ˂LOD to 4.6 × 108 genome copies/L. This review outlines the evidence currently available on wastewater surveillance: (i) as an early warning system capable of predicting COVID-19 outbreaks days or weeks before clinical cases; (ii) as a tool capable of establishing trends in current outbreaks; (iii) estimating the prevalence of infections; and (iv) studying SARS-CoV-2 genetic diversity. In conclusion, as a cost-effective, rapid, and reliable source of information on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in the population, wastewater surveillance can enhance genomic and epidemiological surveillance with independent and complementary data to inform public health decision-making during the ongoing pandemic.

Hepatitis E Virus in Water Environments: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.

Hepatitis E virus (HEV) is responsible for acute hepatitis in humans, through foodborne, zoonotic, and waterborne transmission routes. This study aimed to assess the prevalence of HEV in water matrices. Six categories were defined: untreated and treated wastewater, surface water (river, lake, and seawater), drinking water, groundwater, and other water environments (irrigation water, grey water, reservoir water, flood water, and effluent of pig slaughterhouse). We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Global Index Medicus, and Excerpta Medica Database. Study selection and data extraction were performed by at least two independent investigators. Heterogeneity (I2) was assessed using the χ2 test on the Cochran Q statistic and H parameter. Sources of heterogeneity were explored by subgroup analysis. This study is registered with PROSPERO, number CRD42021289116. We included 87 prevalence studies from 58 papers, 66.4% of which performed in Europe. The overall prevalence of HEV in water was 9.8% (95% CI 6.4-13.7). The prevalence was higher in untreated wastewater (15.1%) and lower in treated wastewater (3.8%) and in drinking water (4.7%). In surface water, prevalence was 7.4%, and in groundwater, the percentage of positive samples, from only one study available, was 8.3%. Overall, only 36.8% of the studies reported the genotype of HEV, with genotype 3 (HEV-3) prevalent (168 samples), followed by HEV-1 (148 sample), and HEV-4 (2 samples). High-income countries were the most represented with 59/87 studies (67.8%), while only 3/87 (3.5%) of the studies were performed in low-income countries. The overall prevalence obtained of this study was generally higher in industrialized countries. Risk of bias was low in 14.9% of the studies and moderate in 85.1%. The results of this review showed the occurrence of HEV in different waters environments also in industrialized countries with sanitation and safe water supplies. While HEV transmission to humans through water has been widely demonstrated in developing countries, it is an issue still pending in industrialized countries. Better knowledge on the source of pollution, occurrence, survival in water, and removal by water treatment is needed to unravel this transmission path.