Survival and Transport of Hepatitis a Virus in Soils, Groundwater and Wastewater

Hepatitis A virus (HAV), poliovirus type 1 and echovirus type 1 were studied for their adsorption and survival in groundwater, wastewater and soils suspended in these media and for survival and transport through unsaturated miniature soil columns intermittently dosed with virus-laden groundwater or wastewater. There were differences among the viruses in adsorption to soils, with poliovirus adsorbed most extensively, echovirus the least and HAV intermediate between these two. All three viruses survived well (>90% inactivation) for at least 12 weeks in groundwater, wastewater and soil suspensions at 5°C. However, at 25 C, HAV survived generally longer than poliovirus and echovirus, with 90–99% inactivation of HAV and 99.9–99.99% inactivation of poliovirus and echovirus in 12 weeks. In miniature soil columns dosed with virus-laden groundwater or wastewater, virus reductions were generally least for echovirus and greatest for poliovirus. HAV reductions were intermediate between these two, but more like poliovirus. The ability of HAV to survive for long periods in soils, groundwater and wastewater and to migrate to some extent through unsaturated soils helps to explain why HAV can contaminate groundwater and cause outbreaks of groundwaterborne disease.