ABSTRACT
Introducción. Quibdó, capital del departamento del Chocó, se ha caracterizado por ser una de las regiones más deprimidas en Colombia. La presencia de virus entéricos tipo rotavirus y virus de la hepatitis A en el agua de consumo, además de ser un indicador de su mala calidad, es una importante fuente de contaminación para los individuos que la consumen. Objetivo. Demostrar la presencia de estos dos agentes virales en el agua de consumo para contribuir con la explicación de la morbilidad por enfermedad diarreica aguda y hepatitis en la región, y aclarar que el origen de estos virus es por contaminación de desechos humanos más que por la materia fecal de bovinos o porcinos. Materiales y métodos. Se procesaron 4.000 litros de agua que se llevaron a ultrafiltración tangencial y a centrifugación con filtros Centriprep Ultracel YM-50. Se aplicó la prueba de RT-PCR a 60 muestras de agua no tratada y a 20 muestras de agua tratada por el acueducto. Las muestras positivas fueron secuenciadas y con el análisis de dichas secuencias se elaboraron árboles filogenéticos. Resultados. Seis de las muestras resultaron positivas para rotavirus y dos más para virus de la hepatitis A. Éstos aparecieron tanto en aguas tratadas como no tratadas. Los análisis filogenéticos demostraron que el rotavirus pertenece al serotipo G2 humano y que el virus de la hepatitis A fue también de origen humano. Conclusión. El agua analizada presenta un alto nivel de contaminación, demostrado por la presencia de virus patógenos para el hombre.
Introduction. Quibdó, the capital of Chocó Province, is one of the poorest cities in Colombia. Enteric viruses such as rotavirus and hepatitis A virus was found to occur commonly in city drinking water and indicated poor water quality and high risk of becoming infected. The source of these viruses was unknown, but humans and cattle were suspect sources. Objective. City water was assessed to determine source and persistence of diarrhea and hepatitis among the human populations in the environs of Quibdó. Material and methods. Four thousand liters of water were collected, filtered by tangential ultrafiltration and centrifuged in Centriprep Ultracel YM-50 tubes. Sixty samples of untreated and 20 of treated water were probed by RT-PCR. Results. Six samples were positive for rotavirus and 2 for hepatitis A virus in both, treated and non treated water. DNA sequence analysis identified the presence of human G2 rotavirus and human hepatitis A virus. Conclusion. The evidence indicated a high level of contamination with pathogenic viruses in consumable water sources in Quibdó, Colombia.
Subject(s)
Diarrhea , Hepatitis A virus , Phylogeny , Rotavirus , Water PollutionABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION: Quibdó, the capital of Chocó Province, is one of the poorest cities in Colombia. Enteric viruses such as rotavirus and hepatitis A virus was found to occur commonly in city drinking water and indicated poor water quality and high risk of becoming infected. The source of these viruses was unknown, but humans and cattle were suspect sources. OBJECTIVE: City water was assessed to determine source and persistence of diarrhea and hepatitis among the human populations in the environs of Quibdó. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Four thousand liters of water were collected, filtered by tangential ultrafiltration and centrifuged in Centriprep Ultracel YM-50 tubes. Sixty samples of untreated and 20 of treated water were probed by RT-PCR. RESULTS: Six samples were positive for rotavirus and 2 for hepatitis A virus in both, treated and non treated water. DNA sequence analysis identified the presence of human G2 rotavirus and human hepatitis A virus. CONCLUSION: The evidence indicated a high level of contamination with pathogenic viruses in consumable water sources in Quibdó, Colombia.
