Quote:
Originally Posted by zonerboy
If viruses survived The Villages wastewater treatment and were present in irrigation water used in yards and on golf courses, I don’t think we’d have to worry about Covid-19. We would all be dead from HIV or from one of the many forms of viral hepatitis or from viral encephalitis, etc.
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What happens with one virus cannot be assumed to happen with a different virus. But more to the point you made. The prevalence of HIV is very low, the prevalence of viral encephalitis is even lower. Other than hepatitis A, the other hepatitis viruses are not spread by fecal transmission Thus the likelihood of those viruses being in wastewater is much lower than the likelihood of significant COVID.
I agree that it is extremely unlikely that infectious COVID is going to be spread by treated wastewater, I think it was an interesting question, and it is not ruled out by the absence of spread of HIV, Hepatitis, or encephalitis. In many cases of Hepatitis A which is fecal oral, the source is not determined. However it is worth pointing out that sewage workers do not have an increased risk of Hep A despite their potential exposure to even untreated sewage. Hep A survives up to months outside the body.
It's always good to learn new stuff.