Recovery of enteroviruses from water and sediments of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela

Abstract

Lake Maracaibo is a large inlet of the Caribbean sea located in the northwest corner of Venezuela. Densely populated cities around the lake generate large quantities of untreated sewage which is disposed directly into the lake. Water and sediment samples were analyzed for the presence of enteroviruses. Five of the ten water samples and eight of the ten sediment samples were positive for enteric viruses.Of the 122 viral plaques isolated (31 of water and 91 of sediments) 80% and 79.2%, respectively, were typed by the enteroviruses antisera pool used in this study. Polio 1, polio 2, echo 2, echo 18, echo 20, and echo 29 were identified in water samples. Polio 1, polio 2, echo 20, echo 27, and echo 29 were identified in sediment samples.

Key words:

• Enteroviruses
• enterobacteria water
• sediments
• poliovirus
• echovirus
• Latin America
• Venezuela

Notes

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