Environmental stability of porcine respiratory coronavirus in aquatic environments

Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a family of viruses that are best known as the causative agents of human diseases like the common cold, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and COVID-19. CoVs spread by human-to-human transmission via droplets or direct contact....

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Published in:	PloS one Vol. 16; no. 7; p. e0254540
Main Authors:	De Rijcke, Maarten, Shaikh, Hisham Mohammed, Mees, Jan, Nauwynck, Hans, Vandegehuchte, Michiel Bert
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	United States Public Library of Science 14-07-2021 Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Subjects:	Animal husbandry Animals Aquatic environment Biology and life sciences Cells, Cultured Common cold Coronavirus infections Coronavirus Infections - transmission Coronaviruses COVID-19 Deactivation Disease transmission Earth Sciences Ecology and Environmental Sciences Environmental aspects Experiments Exudates Exudation Filtration Food chains Food webs Inactivation Male Marine environment Medical research Medicine and Health Sciences Microorganisms Middle East respiratory syndrome Nuclease Pilot Projects Porcine Respiratory Coronavirus - isolation & purification Porcine Respiratory Coronavirus - pathogenicity Respiratory diseases Rivers Rivers - virology Saline water Seawater Severe acute respiratory syndrome Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 Stability Suspended matter Swine Terrestrial environments Testis - cytology Testis - virology Time Factors Viral diseases Viral Load Viruses Wastewater Wastewater - virology Wastewater treatment plants Water Microbiology Water purification Water temperature Belgium North Sea
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Summary:	Coronaviruses (CoVs) are a family of viruses that are best known as the causative agents of human diseases like the common cold, Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS), Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and COVID-19. CoVs spread by human-to-human transmission via droplets or direct contact. There is, however, concern about potential waterborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19, as it has been found in wastewater facilities and rivers. To date, little is known about the stability of SARS-CoV-2 or any other free coronavirus in aquatic environments. The inactivation of terrestrial CoVs in seawater is rarely studied. Here, we use a porcine respiratory coronavirus (PRCV) that is commonly found in animal husbandry as a surrogate to study the stability of CoVs in natural water. A series of experiments were conducted in which PRCV (strain 91V44) was added to filtered and unfiltered fresh- and saltwater taken from the river Scheldt and the North Sea. Virus titres were then measured by TCID50-assays using swine testicle cell cultures after various incubation times. The results show that viral inactivation of PRCV in filtered seawater can be rapid, with an observed 99% decline in the viral load after just two days, which may depend on temperature and the total suspended matter concentration. PRCV degraded much slower in filtered water from the river Scheldt, taking over 15 days to decline by 99%, which was somewhat faster than the PBS control treatment (T99 = 19.2 days). Overall, the results suggest that terrestrial CoVs are not likely to accumulate in marine environments. Studies into potential interactions with exudates (proteases, nucleases) from the microbial food web are, however, recommended.
Bibliography:	Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
ISSN:	1932-6203 1932-6203
DOI:	10.1371/journal.pone.0254540