High abundance of human herpesvirus 8 in wastewater from a large urban area.

Abstract

This study assesses the diversity and abundance of Human Herpesviruses (HHVs) in the influent of an urban wastewater treatment plant using shotgun sequencing, metagenomic analysis and qPCR. Influent wastewater samples were collected from the three interceptors that serve the City of Detroit and Wayne, Macomb and Oakland counties between November 2017 to February 2018. The samples were subjected to a series of processes to concentrate viruses which were further sequenced and amplified using qPCR. All nine types of HHV were detected in wastewater. Human Herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), known as Kaposi's sarcoma herpesvirus, which is only prevalent in 5-10% of USA population, was found to be the most abundant followed by HHV-3 or Varicella-zoster virus. The high abundance of HHV-8 in the Detroit metropolitan area may be attributed to the HIV-AIDS outbreak that was ongoing in Detroit during the sampling period. The approach described in this paper can be used to establish a baseline of viruses secreted by the community as a whole. Sudden changes in the baseline would identify changes in community health and immunity.