Biological Monitoring of Ocean Waters for Human Enteropathogenic Viruses and Their Rapid Detection by Solid-Phase Immunoassay

An alternate method has been proposed to monitor the presence of human enteropathogenic viruses in ocean and coastal waters caused by the practice of sewage disposal. In the present study the indigenous bivalve filter-feeding molluscs (Isognomon & Pinna), ubiquitously distributed in the Pacific basin, have been successfully used as an alternate practicable method for the recovery of human enteroviruses from coastal waters. An alternate method to augment infectivity measurements, the nitrocellulose membrane enzyme immunoassay (NC-EIA) was evaluated and found to provide a rapid, highly sensitive, and specific detection of human enteroviruses.