Fecal Source Tracking Using Human and Bovine Adenovirus and Polyomaviruses

Background and Need: Many Wisconsin residents have as their immediate source of water a private well that has a contemporary record of suspected fecal contamination (based on repeated detection of Escherichia coli in well water samples). The simple detection of commonly targeted fecal indicator bacteria, like fecal coliform bacteria and E. coli, provides little information about contamination source(s) (e.g., human vs. livestock), and dedicated resources are typically lacking for more thorough investigations that may elucidate the sources of groundwater contamination. Accordingly, need exists for (i) the investigation of microbial indicators, such as host-specific adenoviruses (AdV) and polyomaviruses (PyV), whose detection in groundwater provides information on contamination sources, and (ii) the exploration of methods for collecting and detecting source-diagnostic microorganisms in groundwater samples from such “problem wells.”
Objectives: The objectives of this study were: (1) to ascertain the utility of bovine AdV (BAdV) and bovine PyV (BPyV) as fecal contamination indicators by determining their prevalence in cattle wastes; (2) to quantify the efficiency of hollow fiber ultrafiltration (HFUF) for concentrating viruses from natural groundwater; and (3) to evaluate the likelihood that AdV and PyV will be detected and prove useful for fecal source attribution in private groundwater samples deemed vulnerable to fecal contamination.