It is important to evaluate the removal of enteric viruses by drinking water treatment processes so that viral infection risk can be assessed and managed. However, evaluating the removal of enteric viruses by full-scale treatment processes can be challenging due to the low numbers of viruses and the presence of substances in the water samples that inhibit detection. In this study, we evaluated the removal of pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) by microfiltration (MF) and slow sand filtration (SSF) at two full-scale drinking water treatment plants in Japan, quantifying virus concentrations with real-time polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). The removal of PMMoV by MF ranged from 0.0 to >0.9 log₁₀, although concentrations were below the detection limit for half of the treated water samples. SSF removed PMMoV by up to 2.8 log₁₀; however, the removal efficiency decreased to 0.0–1.0 log₁₀ under cold water temperatures. Process control showed that nucleic acid extraction and qPCR efficiency were inhibited in nearly 40% of water samples. Dilution, DAX-8, and ferrihydrite treatments for purification were effective in mitigating these inhibitory effects.

评估饮用水处理过程中肠病毒的清除非常重要，这样才能评估和管理病毒感染的风险。但是，由于病毒数量少以及水样品中存在抑制检测的物质，因此评估通过全面处理工艺对肠病毒的去除可能具有挑战性。在这项研究中，我们评估了日本两家大型饮用水处理厂通过微滤（MF）和慢速砂滤（SSF）去除辣椒轻度斑驳病毒（PMMoV）的情况，并通过实时聚合酶链反应定量了病毒浓度（qPCR）。MF对PMMoV的去除范围为0.0至> 0.9 log ₁₀，尽管浓度低于一半的已处理水样品的检出限。SSF去除PMMoV最多2.8 log ₁₀ ; 然而，在冷水温度下，去除效率降至0.0–1.0 log ₁₀。过程控制表明，在近40％的水样中核酸提取和qPCR效率受到抑制。稀释，DAX-8和水铁矿处理用于纯化可有效减轻这些抑制作用。