ABSTRACT
Detection of viruses under adverse environmental conditions such as in highly turbid estuarine waters with high concentrations of organic components provides challenges quite different from those encountered with finished waters. Some of the procedures initially developed for concentrating viruses from water and wastewater and later considered inadequate to deal with the problems of large sample volumes have been re-examined for their suitability in the reconcentration of viruses from primary eluates. Certain organic compounds and metallic ions in water samples are concentrated along with viruses on membrane filters and are found in relatively high concentrations in the filter eluates. These components form floes at low pH and clog smaller membrane filters used for reconcentration. Magnetic iron oxide is an excellent adsorbent for polioviruses, coxsackieviruses, echo-viruses, and other viruses suspended in distilled water and tapwater. Microporous filter adsorption-elution methods for concentrating human enteroviruses from large volumes of water are available.
