Norovirus Detection in Groundwater

Waterborne disease outbreaks associated with groundwater consumption have been reported in different countries. Noroviruses are considered emerging pathogens, which cause gastroenteritis in all age groups worldwide and numerous outbreaks of noroviral gastroenteritis have been ascribed to contaminated drinking water. In Italy, few data on viral contamination of water environment and groundwater in particular are available. In this study, the presence of Norovirus GG I and GG II was investigated, using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test, applied to groundwater samples collected in the Latium region in central Italy. Four out of 26 samples were positive (15.38%). Our results show both the presence of Norovirus in groundwater and the possibility to apply the RT-PCR tests for virus analysis.