Environmental Science and Technology Virtual Issue: Overview of Research on the Fate and Behavior of Enveloped Viruses in the Environment

The American Chemical Society (ACS) journal “Environmental Science and Technology” have assembled a “virtual issue” on the fate and behaviour of enveloped viruses in the environment. A “virtual issue” is a collection of previously published research papers on a topic of current scientific interest. For those not familiar with it, Environmental Science and Technology is

WHO/UNICEF/Government webinar on COVID-19 and Water, Sanitation & Hygiene (WASH) for Sanitation & Water for All (SWA)

Sanitation and Water for All (SWA) is a global partnership of governments, donors, civil society organisations and other development partners working together to coordinate high-level action, improve accountability and use scarce resources more effectively. The Sanitation and Water for All partnership invites you to participate, with presentations from WHO, UNICEF, and government officials from Cambodia,

Survival of Coronaviruses in Water and Wastewater

This paper presents a study in the survival of two representative coronaviruses (feline infectious peritonitis virus, and human coronavirus 229E) in filtered and unfiltered tap water (4 and 23°C) and wastewater (23°C). The survival of these coronaviruses was compared to poliovirus 1 under the same test conditions. Inactivation of coronaviruses in the test water was

Viral Shedding and Antibody Response in 37 Patients with Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus Infection

Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) causes isolated cases and outbreaks of severe respiratory disease. This paper presents a study based on 37 adult patients infected with MERS-CoV. The aim was to assess the viral load (amount of virus) in the lower and upper respiratory tracts, blood, stool (faeces), and urine. A minority of faeces

Industrial experience and research into the causes of SARS virus transmission in a high-rise residential housing estate in Hong Kong

This report provides very practical insights as to how SARS-CoV is understood to have been transmitted among residents of a high-rise residential housing estate during the SARS outbreak in 2003. This transmission led to a localised outbreak (or ‘hotspot’) in the Amoy Gardens housing estate, in Hong Kong. It provides an important assessment of practices

The source and fate of pandemic viruses in the urban water cycle

This paper was produced by Dr Krista Rule Wigginton, Associate Professor in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Michigan and two students under her supervision (Y. Ye and R.M. Ellenberg). It was commissioned by the Editors of the Royal Society of Chemistry journal “Environmental Science: Water Research & Technology” as

Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents

This review of previously reported studies was published in March 2020, so provides a very current update on the persistence of (human and veterinary) coronaviruses (such as SARS-CoV-2) on surfaces and their inactivation with potential disinfection reagents. The analysis of 22 studies revealed that human coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV or endemic human coronaviruses (HCoV)

Human Coronaviruses: Insights into Environmental Resistance and Its Influence on the Development of New Antiseptic Strategies

This paper does not discuss the presence or fate of coronaviruses in water, but it includes useful insights on disinfecting agents. Some of these (most notably sodium hypochlorite) have relevance for drinking water and wastewater management. But many of them have relevance to the water industry in that these disinfectants may have important roles for

Survival of surrogate coronaviruses in water (2009)

This study was motivated by previous reports that faecal contaminated liquid droplets are a potential vehicle for the spread of viruses such as SARS-CoV. This study evaluated survival of two surrogate coronaviruses: transmissible gastroenteritis (TGEV) and mouse hepatitis (MHV) The test waters used in this study included: Reagent-grade water, produced by treatment with reverse osmosis

Effects of Air Temperature and Relative Humidity on Coronavirus Survival on Surfaces (2010)

This paper does not specifically address the fate of coronaviruses in water. But it reports some relevant facts that affect the survival of coronaviruses on surfaces. These are the importance of air temperature and relative humidity. This research was undertaken using surrogate viruses in order to avoid the challenges of working with the highly pathogenic