COMPARISON OF POLIOVIRUS DETECTION IN WATER BY CELL-CULTURE AND NUCLEIC-ACID HYBRIDIZATION

The nucleic acid hybridization technique has been used to detect viral nucleic acid in environmental water samples. This type of assay, in c ontrast with tissue culture assays, may not distinguish between viable and non-viable viruses. We evaluated, by comparison with tissue cultu re infectivity assay (plaque forming method) , the ability of the gene probe assay to detect viable poliovirus 1 (LSc) in well water, autocl aved well water, filter-sterilized well water and autoclaved phosphate buffered saline kept at 37-degrees-C and 15-degrees-C for 75 days, an d in dechlorinated tapwater held at room temperature. A gradual declin e in numbers of poliovirus was observed in all of the samples by cell culture assay. With the exception of autoclaved well water and phospha te buffer samples, a parallel decline in virus detectable by gene prob e occurred in all other water samples.