Inactivation of rotavirus in water by copper pot

The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of copper pots for inactivation of rotavirus present in water. Distilled water was inoculated with rotavirus (2.2 × 10⁷ plaque-forming units (PFU)/mL) and stored overnight (16 hours) at room temperature in copper pots (test) and in glass bottles (controls). The viable count of infectious virus was tested using a plaque assay on MA 104 monkey kidney cell lines. No plaques were recovered from the water stored in copper pots. On the other hand, over 10⁶PFU/mL of virus was recovered from water stored in controls. The copper leached into the water was at a concentration of 447.25 ± 4.78 ppb, which is well within the safety limits prescribed by the World Health Organization (2,000 ppb). The copper pot has the potential to be used as a point-of-use household water purification system, especially against waterborne pathogens such as rotavirus, which is the cause of 22% of diarrhoea hospitalizations in children less than 5 years of age in developing countries.