Enteric Viruses and Pepper Mild Mottle Virus Show Significant Correlation in Select Mid-Atlantic Agricultural Waters

Microbiological analysis of agricultural waters is fundamental to ensure microbial food safety. The highly variable nature of nontraditional sources of irrigation water makes them particularly difficult to test for the presence of viruses. Multiple characteristics influence viral persistence in a water source, as well as affecting the recovery and detection methods that are employed. Testing for a suite of viruses in water samples is often too costly and labor-intensive, making identification of suitable indicators for viral pathogen contamination necessary. The results from this study address two critical data gaps, namely, EV prevalence in surface and reclaimed waters of the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and subsequent evaluation of physicochemical and atmospheric parameters used to inform the potential for the use of indicators of viral contamination.