Rotavirus A (RVA) is a diarrheal pathogen affecting children under age five, particularly in developing and underdeveloped regions of the world due to malnutrition, poor healthcare and hygienic conditions. Water and food contamination are found to be major sources of diarrheal outbreaks. Pakistan is one of the countries with high RVA related diarrhea burden but with insufficient surveillance system. The aim of this study was to gauge the RVA contamination of major open sewerage collecting streams and household water supplies in two major metropolitan cities of Pakistan. Three concentration methods were compared using RNA purity and concentration as parameters, and detection efficiency of the selected method was estimated. Water samples were collected from 21 sites in Islamabad and Rawalpindi in two phases during the year 2014–2015. Meteorological conditions were recorded for each sampling day and site from Pakistan Meteorological Department (PMD). Nested PCR was used to detect the presence of RVA in samples targeting the VP7 gene. Logistic regression was applied to assess the association of weather conditions with RVA persistence in water bodies. Statistical analysis hinted at a temporal and seasonal pattern of RVA detection in water. Phylogenetic analysis of selected isolates showed a close association of environmental strains with clinical RVA isolates from hospitalized children with acute diarrhea during the same period. This is the first scientific report cataloging the circulating RVA strains in environmental samples from the region. The study highlights the hazards of releasing untreated sewerage containing potentially infectious viral particles into collecting streams, which could become a reservoir of multiple pathogens and a risk to exposed communities. Moreover, routine testing of these water bodies can present an effective surveillance system of circulating viral strains in the population.

A 轮状病毒 (RVA) 是一种腹泻病原体，影响五岁以下儿童，特别是在世界上由于营养不良、医疗保健和卫生条件差而导致发展中和欠发达地区。水和食物污染被发现是腹泻爆发的主要来源。巴基斯坦是 RVA 相关腹泻负担较高但监测系统不足的国家之一。本研究的目的是评估巴基斯坦两个主要大城市主要露天污水收集溪流和家庭供水的 RVA 污染情况。以RNA纯度和浓度为参数比较三种浓度方法，并评估所选方法的检测效率。 2014 年至 2015 年期间分两个阶段从伊斯兰堡和拉瓦尔品第的 21 个地点采集了水样。巴基斯坦气象部门 (PMD) 记录了每个采样日和采样点的气象条件。使用巢式 PCR 检测针对 VP7 基因的样品中是否存在 RVA。应用逻辑回归来评估天气条件与水体中 RVA 持久性的关联。统计分析暗示了水中 RVA 检测的时间和季节模式。对选定分离株的系统发育分析显示，环境菌株与同期急性腹泻住院儿童的临床 RVA 分离株密切相关。这是第一份对该地区环境样本中循环的 RVA 菌株进行分类的科学报告。该研究强调了将未经处理的含有潜在传染性病毒颗粒的污水排放到集流中的危险，这些污水可能成为多种病原体的储存库，并对暴露的社区构成风险。 此外，对这些水体的常规检测可以为人群中传播的病毒株提供有效的监测系统。