The aim of this study was to detect, quantify, and assess the risk of infection and illness for Group A Rotavirus (RVA) in the watersheds of the Santa Lucia and Uruguay rivers in Uruguay. Monthly sampling was carried out for one year in six sites in the watershed of the Santa Lucía River and four in the Uruguay River. All the collection sites are used for recreational activities. Viral concentration was performed with the adsorption-elution method, and detection and quantification of RVA was carried out by TaqMan quantitative PCR (qPCR). Quantitative microbial risk assessment was applied to estimate the daily and annual risk of RVA infection, as well as the daily risk of illness considering direct exposure through recreational activity. RVA was detected in 42% (20/48) of the analyzed samples in the Uruguay River and 40% (29/72) in the Santa Lucía River. The virus was present in all the analyzed points in both watersheds. A pattern of seasonality, characterized by a higher detection frequency of the virus during coldest month of the year, was observed in both basins. The mean concentration for RVA was 1.3 × 105 genomic copies/L. The microbiological risk assessment shows that Santa Lucía watershed presented the highest daily risk of infection (6.41E-01) and illness (3.20E-01) estimated for the point downstream of Florida City; meanwhile for Uruguay River, the highest probabilities of infection (6.82E-01) and illness (3.41E-01) were estimated for the collection site for drinking water intake in Salto city. These results suggest that RVA contamination of these important rivers negatively impact on their microbiological quality since they are used for recreation and drinking water intake, demonstrating that the disposal of waste from cities located in their riverside confers a constant threat of infection for the general population, especially for children.
Keywords: Fecal contamination; Group A rotavirus; Microbial risk assessment; Surface waters.