Evolutionary pattern of 5'-UTR of enteroviruses and primer update for the detection of enteroviral RNA in environmental samples.

Objective: To study the recombination events among enterovirus strains and the development of specific primers for the detection of enteroviruses in environmental samples.

Methods: Nucleotide sequence analysis of enteroviruses deposited in the international database GenBank (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Genbank) was conducted to develop specific primers for the detection of these viruses. The specificity and sensitivity of the method were tested using coxackievirus B3 strain Nancy, environmental isolate of human hepatitis A virus and human rotavirus strain WA. Seventy sewage samples were analyzed.

Results: Enterovirus genome was detected in all positive samples. The genome of enterovirus was not detected in negative samples. The level of detection of these viruses was 10(2) TCID(50)/mL.

Conclusions: The development of new primers is an important issue for the detection of enteroviruses in the environment and the assessment of risk factors to human health.