Comparison of the risk of infection of human rotavirus and astrovirus according to fishing and swimming activities at Las Canas beach, Uruguay

Aims To estimate the risk of human rotavirus (RV) and astrovirus (HAstV) infections for swimmers and fishers at Las Canas beach, Uruguay. Methods and Results Surface water samples were collected monthly for 1 year. The dose-response models used were beta-Poisson and F-1(1) hypergeometric for RV and HAstV, respectively. The probabilities of infection were calculated using a kernel density estimate to fitting the data and then sampling from this distribution (Monte Carlo simulation). The probability of RV infection for fishers was between 0 and 65% and for swimmers was between 0 and 50% (<18 years old) and between 0 and 38% (>18 years old). For HAstV, the probability of infection for fishers was between 0% and 45% and for swimmers was between 0 and 38% (<18 years old) and between 0 and 18% (>18 years old). Conclusions This study suggests that fishers are at higher risk of infection for both viruses compared with swimmers mainly due to higher viral frequency and concentration at the site for fishing activities.

Automated summary

This study estimates the risk of rotavirus and astrovirus infections for swimmers and fishers at Las Canas beach in Uruguay, and finds that fishers are at a higher risk of infection compared to swimmers.