Detection of multiple viruses potentially infecting humans in sewage water from Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China

The progress of sequencing technologies has facilitated metagenomics projects on environmental samples like sewagewater. The present study concerned the analysis of sewage samples collected from 3 locations in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China. The analysis focused on RNA viruses known to infect humans and identified viruses from 10 families. The proportion of human virus species in the sewage samples was relatively stable with an average of 17%. Thirty virus species known to infect humans were identified and they belonged to 6 families: Picornaviridae (12), Astroviridae (11), Reoviridae (3), Caliciviridae (2), Papillomaviridae (1) and Picobirnaviridae (1). A total of 16 full-length genomes were generated from Astroviridae, Picornaviridae (Salivirus and Kobuvirus) and Picobirnaviridae. Astroviruses appeared to be the most present viruses and were detected in all sewage samples. Analyzing the virome of sewage samples should help to monitor any potential risks to public health. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Automated summary

The study analyzed sewage samples collected from three locations in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in China, focusing on RNA viruses known to infect humans. A total of 30 human-infecting virus species from 10 families were identified, with the majority belonging to Picornaviridae and Astroviridae. Astroviruses were the most prevalent and detected in all samples, highlighting the importance of analyzing the virome of sewage samples for monitoring potential risks to public health.