Persistence of Virus and Bacteria in Seawater

Abstract

Abstract : Although seawater has been known to be bactericidal and virucidal, there are antagonistic factors capable of lowering these properties. The bactericidal property has been ascribed to several factors including: sunlight, salinity of the water; the presence of powerful oxidants; the presence of bacteriophage; and certain filterable, thermolabile agents of marine origin. Most of these factors, were likewise virucidal. On the other hand, the addition of simple organic matter reduced substantially the bactericidal power of seawater, but reduction in activity against poliovirus was not apparent. The paper concerns studies on the protective effect of low concentrations of organic substances on the survival rate of bacterial and viral models, i.e., E. coli and type 6 Echo virus, representative of the enteric flora in sewage. Studies employing these models demonstrated a correlative relationship between the rate of bacterial survival and the degree of organic 'pollution,' and between the viral survival and the temperature of the water.