Hold the Press! Viral Water!
Effective Treatment Against Viruses in Wastewater Facilities
By: Kassandra Decker

Preparation of anaerobic digestion process utilizing glass tubes, primary sludge and waste activated sludge as an organic source with introduced virus treated with nitrogen gas to remove oxygen for incubation to mimic conditions of optimal growth for mesophilic and thermophilic microorganisms. Figure taken from Sassi et al 2017. 

The treatment of water in wastewater facilities is of public health concern due to several possible contaminations that  can occur with parasites and bacteria. Most recently, the emergence of the Ebola virus in the United States has yielded interest on viral survival during wastewater treatments. Thus, the treatment at mesophilic (20°C-45°C) and thermophilic (41°C-122°C) temperatures has become important in the elimination of different pathogens. Sassi and colleagues investigated the survival of poliovirus 1, murine norovirus, and adenovirus 4, animal viruses with similar characteristics to the Ebola virus, under mesophilic and thermophilic conditions during anaerobic digestion (Figure). The data analyzed indicated that under mesophilic conditions, the concentration of viruses present was low which ranged from 87.4% to 100% anaerobic digestion of the virus. In thermophilic conditions, the viral concentration was largely reduced past the limit of detection compared to the concentrations in mesophilic conditions. Knowing how to effectively treat reusable water for pathogens can help reduce the incidence of contamination during crop irrigation and other human applications.

Original Article:
Sassi HP, Ikner LA, Abd-Elmaksoud S, Gerba CP, and Pepper IL. (2017). Comparative survival of viruses during thermophilic  and mesophilic anaerobic digestion.  Sci of the Tot Env 615:15-19