Adenovirus and norovirus are viruses that can be released from wastewater treatment plants and can contaminate shellfish and cause gastrointestinal illness in people who eat those shellfish. However, routine and reliable methods to measure the presence of norovirus in water have not been developed. This grant will support a student working with Howard Kator and Kimberly Reece of VIMS to explore whether contamination with adenovirus indicates presence of norovirus contamination in local estuarine waters and shellfish. If this is the case, adenovirus can be measured in the future as an indicator of norovirus contamination.
Funded by the 2010 Virginia Sea Grant Coastal & Marine Science RFP
Project detail: Howard Kator (VIMS) and Kimberly Reece (VIMS). Study of adenovirus and its infectivity in wastewater treatment plant effluent.
