Presence of human noro- and adenoviruses in river and treated wastewater, a longitudinal study and method comparison.

Norovirus (NoV) is one of the most common causative agents of waterborne gastroenteritis outbreaks. The main objective of the study was to determine the presence of human NoVs in river water and in treated wastewater (TW) released into the river. During a one-year survey in 2007/2008, NoVs were detected in 30.8% of river samples (20/65), and 40.5% of TW samples (17/45) with a real-time reverse transcription-PCR assay. NoVs were present in the river water in the winter and spring, coinciding with the NoV epidemiological peak in the community and the presence of NoVs in TW. Later in 2009, the concentration method used, pre-filtration with a Waterra filter combined with filtration through a negatively charged membrane, was evaluated against glass wool filtration and freeze-drying for the detection of adenoviruses in river water. The virus amounts measured varied greatly depending on the virus concentration method. The continued monitoring in the spring of 2009 also revealed that the average concentration of noro- and adenoviruses in TW was 2.64 × 10(3) and 1.29 × 10(4) pcr units per mL, respectively. No correlation between the presence of viruses and Escherichia coli was found. These results may be useful for risk assessment studies.

Suitability of passive sampling for the monitoring of pharmaceuticals in Finnish surface waters.

The occurrence of five pharmaceuticals, consisting of four anti-inflammatory and one antiepileptic drug, was studied by passive sampling and grab sampling in northern Lake Päijänne and River Vantaa. The passive sampling was performed by using Chemcatcher® sampler with a SDB-RPS Empore disk as a receiving phase. In Lake Päijänne, the sampling was conducted during summer 2013 at four locations near the discharge point of a wastewater treatment plant and in the years 2013 and 2015 at four locations along River Vantaa. The samples were analyzed by liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) in the multiple reaction monitoring mode. The concentrations of carbamazepine, diclofenac, ibuprofen, ketoprofen, and naproxen in Lake Päijänne determined by passive sampling ranged between 1.4-2.9 ng L(-1), 15-35 ng L(-1), 13-31 ng L(-1), 16-27 ng L(-1), and 3.3-32 ng L(-1), respectively. Similarly, the results in River Vantaa ranged between 1.2-40 ng L(-1), 15-65 ng L(-1), 13-33 ng L(-1), 16-31 ng L(-1), and 3.3-6.4 ng L(-1). The results suggest that the Chemcatcher passive samplers are suitable for detecting pharmaceuticals in lake and river waters.

Monitoring of Cryptosporidium and Giardia in the Vantaa river basin, southern Finland.

We compared two sampling methods to assess the contamination of the Vantaa river basin by Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium oocysts: 10-1 grab samples, the common river mussel Anadonta piscinalis, were analysed for concentration of (oo)cysts from river water. The samples were collected 2-5 times in autumn 2001 from four wastewater treatment plants and four river water sites located downstream of the plants, and six times from raw water of a drinking water plant using the river as water source. The presence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium was analysed by IF microscopy and PCR. Both cysts and oocysts were detected at all sampling sites, but oocysts were more common than cysts in river water samples. In contrast, cysts were more common in A. piscinalis. Most Cryptosporidium-positive samples were of genotype 2 and Giardia were assemblage B. In river water, MPN of Escherichia coli did not correlate to the presence of (oo)cysts. In conclusion, low (oo)cyst counts were regularly identified in the Vantaa river basin which is contaminated by discharges of treated wastewater of human origin. In general, both methods to appropriate to detect (oo)cysts, but grab samples yielded more positive results. Grab sampling is also more practical and less expensive than analysis of A. piscinalis.