WATERBORNE VIRAL PATHOGENS: DETECTION, CONTROL AND MONITORING OF WATER QUALITY FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION

The viral contamination of water for human consumption is a common cause of diseases outbreaks, therefore, a matter of great relevance for public health, especially in developing countries. In most countries, legislation recommends the study of coliforms to indicate the potability of water, however, this is not correlated with the presence of virus. The present review sought to characterize the epidemiological importance of waterborne viral diseases and the limitations of laboratorial detection and elimination of these pathogens. Besides, the state of art of virus as a tool to assess the quality of the water, as well as, the use of a single virus as the indicator of environmental contamination by virus itself are presented. Reports have demonstrated that some viruses are resistant to conventional water treatment process. Changes in water treatment policy should be achieved, and, should involve viral detection and resistance to physical and chemical agents, amongst other methods. However, we have to bear in mind that the decrease of waterborne infectious diseases is greatly dependent upon the improvement of sanitation, water treatment, together with preventive measures. All those measures together could ensure appropriate conditions for the promotion of human health and the reduction of environmental impacts. DOI:  http://dx.doi.org/10.17525/vrrjournal.v18i1-2.65