<p>Numbers in blank bullets correspond to contigs identified in the HEV and Ai+ImSP pools (... more <p>Numbers in blank bullets correspond to contigs identified in the HEV and Ai+ImSP pools (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185911#pone.0185911.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a>); they are located beside the reference sequence where specific individual alignments of sequenced fragments over the same region in the reference sequences generated an equivalent tree topology (further results available from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185911#pone.0185911.s001" target="_blank">S1 Supporting Information</a>). Labels within the square brackets define the species subtype. Small numbers on the tree branches show the bootstrap score of those branches.</p
<p>The first column corresponds to the numbers in the black bullets shown on some of the br... more <p>The first column corresponds to the numbers in the black bullets shown on some of the branches of the <i>Hepeviridae</i> phylogenetic tree from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185911#pone.0185911.g002" target="_blank">Fig 2</a>.</p
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;... more &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;According to the European Union, half of the human population will live in cities, one of the main water spend zones and focus of pollutants it is expected by 2050. Considering the growing pressure on water resources whole world, a better knowledge for its management is needed to face this situation.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;URBANWAT is a project funded by the EU Commission under the call &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#8220;Closing the Water Cycle Gap&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#8221; of the Water JPI Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. The goal of this project is to come up with an improvement of tools and criteria for groundwater management in urban areas to guarantee the urban water resources sustainability, identify their potential uses and their risks related to groundwater use from both environmental and human health perspectives by an integral approach developing novel technologies and methodologies.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The project will involve a multidisciplinary approach integrating the research of the natural state of the hydrological cycle and pollutants identification (general chemistry, pollutants of emerging concern (CECs) and microorganisms, with emphasis in viruses).&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;To achieve that goal, URBANWAT proposes to use innovative approaches based on liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (HLC-RMS) to: (1) detect differences in degradation in different anoxic conditions employing CECs as indicators of contamination and their transformation products (TPs) as indicators of degradability; (i2)&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#160; analyse fate and transport of chosen contaminants in the soil-plant as a remediation system utilizing picked infrastructures; (3) understand the contaminants movement applying encapsulated DNA nanoparticles; (4)&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#160; scout the presence of new and emergent viruses in groundwater samples employing viral metagenomics. Viral concentration methods from water samples will be also optimized in this research. To do so, column experiments will be carried out.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;URBANWAT project will focus on Barcelona city. In parallel, several studies will be carried out at full-scale in the demonstration facility called &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#8216;WaterStreet&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#8217; at TUDelft. The expected results will help to provide novel and cost-efficient technologies for urban groundwater management with beneficial environmental, economic and societal impacts for the European Union (EU)…
This study involved collaboration between three centres with expertise in viruses, bacteria and p... more This study involved collaboration between three centres with expertise in viruses, bacteria and protozoa. The focus of the research was the study of the dissemination and removal of pathogens and faecal indicators in two sewage treatment plants (STP1 and STP2) using tertiary treatments. Samples were collected over a period of five months through the sewage treatment processes. Analysis of the samples revealed that the plants were not efficient at removing the faecal indicators and pathogens tested during the study. From entry point (raw sewage) to effluent level (tertiary treatment effluent water), the experimental results showed that the reduction ratios of human adenoviruses were 1.2 log10 in STP1 and 1.9 log10 in STP2. Whereas for Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. the reduction ratios were 2.3 log10 for both pathogens in STP1, and 3.0 and 1.7 log10 in STP2, respectively. Furthermore, the presence of faecal indicators and pathogens at different sampling points was evaluated re...
Fresh fruits and vegetables are susceptible to microbial contamination at every stage of the food... more Fresh fruits and vegetables are susceptible to microbial contamination at every stage of the food production chain, and as a potential source of pathogens, irrigation water quality is a critical factor. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques have been flourishing and expanding to a wide variety of fields. However, their application in food safety remains insufficiently explored, and their sensitivity requires improvement. In this study, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays showed low but frequent contamination of common circulating viral pathogens, which were found in 46.9% of samples of fresh produce: 6/12 lettuce samples, 4/12 strawberries samples, and 5/8 parsley samples. Furthermore, the application of two different NGS approaches, target enrichment sequencing (TES) for detecting viruses that infect vertebrates and amplicon deep sequencing (ADS), revealed a high diversity of viral pathogens, especially Norovirus (NoV) and Human Papillomavirus (HPV), in fresh...
ABSTRACTPoultry farming may introduce pathogens into the environment and food chains. High concen... more ABSTRACTPoultry farming may introduce pathogens into the environment and food chains. High concentrations of chicken/turkey parvoviruses were detected in chicken stools and slaughterhouse and downstream urban wastewaters by applying new PCR-based specific detection and quantification techniques. Our results confirm that chicken/turkey parvoviruses may be useful viral indicators of poultry fecal contamination.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) asked the Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) to deliv... more The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) asked the Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) to deliver a scientific Opinion on the maintenance of the list of qualified presumption of safety (QPS) biological agents. The QPS approach was developed by the EFSA Scientific Committee to provide a harmonised generic pre-evaluation to support safety risk assessments of biological agents intentionally introduced into the food and feed chain, in support of the concerned scientific Panels and Units in the frame of market authorisations. The taxonomic identity, body of knowledge, safety and antimicrobial resistance of biological agents are assessed. Safety concerns identified for the respective taxonomic unit (TU) are, where possible and reasonable in number, reflected as 'qualifications' which should be assessed at the strain level by the EFSA's scientific Panels. The list of QPS status recommended biological agents, first established in 2007, has been continuously revised and updated...
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy is a currently untreatable infection of the brain. Her... more Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy is a currently untreatable infection of the brain. Here, we demonstrate in 2 patients that treatment with interleukin 7, JC polyomavirus (JCV) capsid protein VP1, and a Toll-like receptor 7 agonist used as adjuvant, was well tolerated, and showed a very favor-able safety profile and unexpected efficacy that warrant further investigation.
23 24 Viruses are among the most important pathogens present in water contaminated with 25 feces ... more 23 24 Viruses are among the most important pathogens present in water contaminated with 25 feces or urine and represent a serious risk to human health. Four procedures for 26 concentrating viruses from sewage have been compared in this work, three of which 27 were developed in the present study. Viruses were quantified using PCR techniques. 28 According to statistical analysis and the sensitivity to detect human adenoviruses 29 (HAdV), JC polyomaviruses (JCPyV) and noroviruses genogroup II (NoV GGII), (i) a 30 new procedure (elution and skimmed-milk flocculation procedure (ESMP)) based on 31 the elution of the viruses with glycine-alkaline buffer followed by organic flocculation 32 with skimmed-milk was found to be the most efficient method when compared to (ii) 33 ultrafiltration and glycine-alkaline elution, (iii) a lyophilization-based method and (iv) 34 ultracentrifugation and glycine-alkaline elution. Through the analysis of replicate 35 sewage samples, ESMP showed reproducible...
At this time, about 3,000 different viruses are recognized, but metagenomic studies suggest that ... more At this time, about 3,000 different viruses are recognized, but metagenomic studies suggest that these viruses are a small fraction of the viruses that exist in nature. We have explored viral diversity by deep sequencing nucleic acids obtained from virion populations enriched from raw sewage. We identified 234 known viruses, including 17 that infect humans. Plant, insect, and algal viruses as well as bacteriophages were also present. These viruses represented 26 taxonomic families and included viruses with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), positive-sense ssRNA [ssRNA( )], and dsRNA genomes. Novel viruses that could be placed in specific taxa represented 51 different families, making untreated wastewater the most diverse viral metagenome (genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples) examined thus far. However, the vast majority of sequence reads bore little or no sequence relation to known viruses and thus could not be placed into specific t...
Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
The COVID-19 pandemic placed hygiene at the centre of disease prevention. Yet, access to the leve... more The COVID-19 pandemic placed hygiene at the centre of disease prevention. Yet, access to the levels of water supply that support good hand hygiene and institutional cleaning, our understanding of hygiene behaviours, and access to soap are deficient in low-, middle- and high-income countries. This paper reviews the role of water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) in disease emergence, previous outbreaks, combatting COVID-19 and in preparing for future pandemics. We consider settings where these factors are particularly important and identify key preventive contributions to disease control and gaps in the evidence base. Urgent substantial action is required to remedy deficiencies in WaSH, particularly the provision of reliable, continuous piped water on-premises for all households and settings. Hygiene promotion programmes, underpinned by behavioural science, must be adapted to high-risk populations (such as the elderly and marginalised) and settings (such as healthcare facilities, transp...
<p>Numbers in blank bullets correspond to contigs identified in the HEV and Ai+ImSP pools (... more <p>Numbers in blank bullets correspond to contigs identified in the HEV and Ai+ImSP pools (see <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185911#pone.0185911.t002" target="_blank">Table 2</a>); they are located beside the reference sequence where specific individual alignments of sequenced fragments over the same region in the reference sequences generated an equivalent tree topology (further results available from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185911#pone.0185911.s001" target="_blank">S1 Supporting Information</a>). Labels within the square brackets define the species subtype. Small numbers on the tree branches show the bootstrap score of those branches.</p
<p>The first column corresponds to the numbers in the black bullets shown on some of the br... more <p>The first column corresponds to the numbers in the black bullets shown on some of the branches of the <i>Hepeviridae</i> phylogenetic tree from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0185911#pone.0185911.g002" target="_blank">Fig 2</a>.</p
&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;... more &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;According to the European Union, half of the human population will live in cities, one of the main water spend zones and focus of pollutants it is expected by 2050. Considering the growing pressure on water resources whole world, a better knowledge for its management is needed to face this situation.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;URBANWAT is a project funded by the EU Commission under the call &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#8220;Closing the Water Cycle Gap&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#8221; of the Water JPI Strategic Research and Innovation Agenda. The goal of this project is to come up with an improvement of tools and criteria for groundwater management in urban areas to guarantee the urban water resources sustainability, identify their potential uses and their risks related to groundwater use from both environmental and human health perspectives by an integral approach developing novel technologies and methodologies.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;The project will involve a multidisciplinary approach integrating the research of the natural state of the hydrological cycle and pollutants identification (general chemistry, pollutants of emerging concern (CECs) and microorganisms, with emphasis in viruses).&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;To achieve that goal, URBANWAT proposes to use innovative approaches based on liquid chromatography high resolution mass spectrometry (HLC-RMS) to: (1) detect differences in degradation in different anoxic conditions employing CECs as indicators of contamination and their transformation products (TPs) as indicators of degradability; (i2)&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#160; analyse fate and transport of chosen contaminants in the soil-plant as a remediation system utilizing picked infrastructures; (3) understand the contaminants movement applying encapsulated DNA nanoparticles; (4)&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#160; scout the presence of new and emergent viruses in groundwater samples employing viral metagenomics. Viral concentration methods from water samples will be also optimized in this research. To do so, column experiments will be carried out.&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;/p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt; &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;lt;p&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;gt;URBANWAT project will focus on Barcelona city. In parallel, several studies will be carried out at full-scale in the demonstration facility called &amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#8216;WaterStreet&amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;amp;#8217; at TUDelft. The expected results will help to provide novel and cost-efficient technologies for urban groundwater management with beneficial environmental, economic and societal impacts for the European Union (EU)…
This study involved collaboration between three centres with expertise in viruses, bacteria and p... more This study involved collaboration between three centres with expertise in viruses, bacteria and protozoa. The focus of the research was the study of the dissemination and removal of pathogens and faecal indicators in two sewage treatment plants (STP1 and STP2) using tertiary treatments. Samples were collected over a period of five months through the sewage treatment processes. Analysis of the samples revealed that the plants were not efficient at removing the faecal indicators and pathogens tested during the study. From entry point (raw sewage) to effluent level (tertiary treatment effluent water), the experimental results showed that the reduction ratios of human adenoviruses were 1.2 log10 in STP1 and 1.9 log10 in STP2. Whereas for Giardia spp. and Cryptosporidium spp. the reduction ratios were 2.3 log10 for both pathogens in STP1, and 3.0 and 1.7 log10 in STP2, respectively. Furthermore, the presence of faecal indicators and pathogens at different sampling points was evaluated re...
Fresh fruits and vegetables are susceptible to microbial contamination at every stage of the food... more Fresh fruits and vegetables are susceptible to microbial contamination at every stage of the food production chain, and as a potential source of pathogens, irrigation water quality is a critical factor. Next-generation sequencing (NGS) techniques have been flourishing and expanding to a wide variety of fields. However, their application in food safety remains insufficiently explored, and their sensitivity requires improvement. In this study, quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) assays showed low but frequent contamination of common circulating viral pathogens, which were found in 46.9% of samples of fresh produce: 6/12 lettuce samples, 4/12 strawberries samples, and 5/8 parsley samples. Furthermore, the application of two different NGS approaches, target enrichment sequencing (TES) for detecting viruses that infect vertebrates and amplicon deep sequencing (ADS), revealed a high diversity of viral pathogens, especially Norovirus (NoV) and Human Papillomavirus (HPV), in fresh...
ABSTRACTPoultry farming may introduce pathogens into the environment and food chains. High concen... more ABSTRACTPoultry farming may introduce pathogens into the environment and food chains. High concentrations of chicken/turkey parvoviruses were detected in chicken stools and slaughterhouse and downstream urban wastewaters by applying new PCR-based specific detection and quantification techniques. Our results confirm that chicken/turkey parvoviruses may be useful viral indicators of poultry fecal contamination.
The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) asked the Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) to deliv... more The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) asked the Panel on Biological Hazards (BIOHAZ) to deliver a scientific Opinion on the maintenance of the list of qualified presumption of safety (QPS) biological agents. The QPS approach was developed by the EFSA Scientific Committee to provide a harmonised generic pre-evaluation to support safety risk assessments of biological agents intentionally introduced into the food and feed chain, in support of the concerned scientific Panels and Units in the frame of market authorisations. The taxonomic identity, body of knowledge, safety and antimicrobial resistance of biological agents are assessed. Safety concerns identified for the respective taxonomic unit (TU) are, where possible and reasonable in number, reflected as 'qualifications' which should be assessed at the strain level by the EFSA's scientific Panels. The list of QPS status recommended biological agents, first established in 2007, has been continuously revised and updated...
Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy is a currently untreatable infection of the brain. Her... more Progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy is a currently untreatable infection of the brain. Here, we demonstrate in 2 patients that treatment with interleukin 7, JC polyomavirus (JCV) capsid protein VP1, and a Toll-like receptor 7 agonist used as adjuvant, was well tolerated, and showed a very favor-able safety profile and unexpected efficacy that warrant further investigation.
23 24 Viruses are among the most important pathogens present in water contaminated with 25 feces ... more 23 24 Viruses are among the most important pathogens present in water contaminated with 25 feces or urine and represent a serious risk to human health. Four procedures for 26 concentrating viruses from sewage have been compared in this work, three of which 27 were developed in the present study. Viruses were quantified using PCR techniques. 28 According to statistical analysis and the sensitivity to detect human adenoviruses 29 (HAdV), JC polyomaviruses (JCPyV) and noroviruses genogroup II (NoV GGII), (i) a 30 new procedure (elution and skimmed-milk flocculation procedure (ESMP)) based on 31 the elution of the viruses with glycine-alkaline buffer followed by organic flocculation 32 with skimmed-milk was found to be the most efficient method when compared to (ii) 33 ultrafiltration and glycine-alkaline elution, (iii) a lyophilization-based method and (iv) 34 ultracentrifugation and glycine-alkaline elution. Through the analysis of replicate 35 sewage samples, ESMP showed reproducible...
At this time, about 3,000 different viruses are recognized, but metagenomic studies suggest that ... more At this time, about 3,000 different viruses are recognized, but metagenomic studies suggest that these viruses are a small fraction of the viruses that exist in nature. We have explored viral diversity by deep sequencing nucleic acids obtained from virion populations enriched from raw sewage. We identified 234 known viruses, including 17 that infect humans. Plant, insect, and algal viruses as well as bacteriophages were also present. These viruses represented 26 taxonomic families and included viruses with single-stranded DNA (ssDNA), double-stranded DNA (dsDNA), positive-sense ssRNA [ssRNA( )], and dsRNA genomes. Novel viruses that could be placed in specific taxa represented 51 different families, making untreated wastewater the most diverse viral metagenome (genetic material recovered directly from environmental samples) examined thus far. However, the vast majority of sequence reads bore little or no sequence relation to known viruses and thus could not be placed into specific t...
Journal of Water, Sanitation and Hygiene for Development
The COVID-19 pandemic placed hygiene at the centre of disease prevention. Yet, access to the leve... more The COVID-19 pandemic placed hygiene at the centre of disease prevention. Yet, access to the levels of water supply that support good hand hygiene and institutional cleaning, our understanding of hygiene behaviours, and access to soap are deficient in low-, middle- and high-income countries. This paper reviews the role of water, sanitation and hygiene (WaSH) in disease emergence, previous outbreaks, combatting COVID-19 and in preparing for future pandemics. We consider settings where these factors are particularly important and identify key preventive contributions to disease control and gaps in the evidence base. Urgent substantial action is required to remedy deficiencies in WaSH, particularly the provision of reliable, continuous piped water on-premises for all households and settings. Hygiene promotion programmes, underpinned by behavioural science, must be adapted to high-risk populations (such as the elderly and marginalised) and settings (such as healthcare facilities, transp...
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Papers by Rosina Girones