Abstract

Enteroviruses are among the most common viruses infecting the human intestine; they are very widespread in nature and resistant to external agents. They are eliminated in the faeces and contaminate water and food. These viruses cause various clinical syndromes and constitute a big public health problem. The aim of our study was to search for enteroviruses in the water samples. For this, a total of 225 L of tap water coming from the national network office for drinking water (ONEP) and 18 samples of waste water originating from Marrakech city were studied. These samples were concentrated, treated with polyethylene glycol 6000 and then analyzed by RT-PCR. Only two samples were found to be positive for enteroviruses by RT-PCR among the 18 waste water samples analyzed, which gave a rate of 11.11%. On the other hand, no positive samples were found in the tap water. This study made it possible on the one hand to apply for the first time RT-PCR for the detection of enteroviruses in water samples originating from Marrakech city, and on the other hand to show that tap water of this city does not present any risk of contamination by this type of germ.

Key words: Drinking water, waste water, enterovirus, RT-PCR, Marrakech.