Assessment of the viral contamination of fecal origin over a wide geographical area using an active approach with Dreissena polymorpha.

Biomonitoring appears to be a key approach to assess chemical or microbiological contaminations. The freshwater mussel, Dreissena polymorpha (D. polymorpha), is a suitable tool already used to monitor chemical and, more recently, microbiological pollution.

Assessing viral freshwater hazard using a toxicokinetic model and Dreissena polymorpha.

The detection all pathogenic enteric viruses in water is expensive, time-consuming, and limited by numerous technical difficulties. Consequently, using reliable indicators such as F-specific RNA phages (FRNAPH) can be well adapted to assess the risk of viral contamination of fecal origin in surface waters. However, the variability of results inherent to the water matrix makes it difficult to use them routinely and to interpret viral risk.

Toward better monitoring of human noroviruses and F-specific RNA bacteriophages in aquatic environments using bivalve mollusks and passive samplers: A case study.

Monitoring pathogenic enteric viruses in continental and marine water bodies is essential to control the viral contamination of human populations. Human Noroviruses (NoV) are the main enteric viruses present in surface waters and foodstuff. In a context of global change, it is currently a challenge to improve the management of viral pollutions in aquatic environments and thereby limit the contamination of vulnerable water bodies or foodstuffs.

First evidence of SARS-CoV-2 genome detection in zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha).

The uses of bivalve molluscs in environmental biomonitoring have recently gained momentum due to their ability to indicate and concentrate human pathogenic microorganisms. In the context of the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 epidemic, the objective of this study was to determine if the SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid genome can be detected in zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) exposed to raw and treated urban wastewaters from two separate plants to support its interest as bioindicator of the SARS-CoV-2 genome contamination in water. The zebra mussels were exposed to treated wastewater through caging at the outlet of two plants located in France, as well as to raw wastewater in controlled conditions.