TY - JOUR
T1 - Viral antibodies in agricultural populations exposed to aerosols from wastewater irrigation during a viral disease outbreak
AU - Fattal, B.
AU - Margalith, M.
AU - Shuval, H. I.
AU - Wax, Y.
AU - Morag, A.
N1 - Funding Information:
The health implications of aerosolized microorganisms in wastewater have been reviewed recently by several authors (1-3). Accumulated evidence indicates that aerosols containing a variety of viable, virulent pathogenic bacteria and viruses can be ~~ , „„„ Received for publication January 6, 1986, and in final form July 7,1986. 1Environmental Health Laboratory, School of Public Health and Community Medicine, The Hebrew Univereity-Hadassah Medical School, P.O. Box 1172, Jerusalem, 91010, Israel. (Reprint requests to Dr. B. Fattal.) 2 Department of Statistics, The Hebrew University, Jerusalem, 91010, Israel. 'Division of Clinical Virology, The Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School, Jerusalem, 91010, Isr?51-, ,, , It . ,_ This research was funded by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under Grant no. CR806416 to the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
PY - 1987/1/1
Y1 - 1987/1/1
N2 - The presence of antibodies to eight enteroviruses (echovirus types 4, 7, and 9, coxsackievirus types A9, B1, B3, and B4, and hepatitis A virus) and varicella-zoster virus was determined during a two-year period, 1980-1981, in paired blood samples of 777 persons in selected agricultural communities (kibbutzim) in Israel. These communities were divided Into several categories on the basis of waste-water utilization for sprinkler irrigation and/or fish ponds. Among the nine viral antibodies studied, there was a consistent and significant excess of antibodies to echovirus type 4 only, particularly in the age group 0-5 years, in kibbutzim that had been exposed to aerosols from sprinkler Irrigation with partially treated wastewater from nearby towns. This finding may be attributed to a major national echovirus type 4 epidemic, which had peaked shortly before the collection of the blood samples. The fact that no similar excess of the other viral antibodies studied was found in any of the kibbutz categories suggests that, under nonepidemic conditions, exposure to wastewater aerosols usually does not lead to an excess in enteroviral infection. No excess of clinical cases of echovirus type 4-associated disease (meningitis or encephalitis) was detected In the communities exposed to wastewater aerosol.
AB - The presence of antibodies to eight enteroviruses (echovirus types 4, 7, and 9, coxsackievirus types A9, B1, B3, and B4, and hepatitis A virus) and varicella-zoster virus was determined during a two-year period, 1980-1981, in paired blood samples of 777 persons in selected agricultural communities (kibbutzim) in Israel. These communities were divided Into several categories on the basis of waste-water utilization for sprinkler irrigation and/or fish ponds. Among the nine viral antibodies studied, there was a consistent and significant excess of antibodies to echovirus type 4 only, particularly in the age group 0-5 years, in kibbutzim that had been exposed to aerosols from sprinkler Irrigation with partially treated wastewater from nearby towns. This finding may be attributed to a major national echovirus type 4 epidemic, which had peaked shortly before the collection of the blood samples. The fact that no similar excess of the other viral antibodies studied was found in any of the kibbutz categories suggests that, under nonepidemic conditions, exposure to wastewater aerosols usually does not lead to an excess in enteroviral infection. No excess of clinical cases of echovirus type 4-associated disease (meningitis or encephalitis) was detected In the communities exposed to wastewater aerosol.
KW - Aerosols
KW - Antibodies
KW - Disease outbreaks
KW - Echoviruses
KW - Viral
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0023221934&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114607
DO - 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a114607
M3 - Article
C2 - 3565365
AN - SCOPUS:0023221934
SN - 0002-9262
VL - 125
SP - 899
EP - 906
JO - American Journal of Epidemiology
JF - American Journal of Epidemiology
IS - 5
ER -