Table 2.
Quantification of HEV RNA in concentrated samples from surface water sources and their associated water treatment plants, and evaluation of the treatment efficacy (reduction in RNA copies).
| Date | HEV Concentration (gc/L) | Reduction (%) after Treatment | HEV Concentration (gc/L) | Reduction (%) after Treatment | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| River | WTP_R | Dam Reservoir | WTP_D | |||
| January | 0 | 0 | * | 0 | 0 | * |
| February, first half | 355.5 | 320.8 | 9.8 | - | - | - |
| February, second half | 78.2 | 49.3 | 37.0 | 29.1 | 75.2 | NR |
| March, first half | 0 | 0 | * | - | - | - |
| March, second half | 4,029.1 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | * |
| April | 7,383.1 | 2,379.3 | 67.8 | 109,687.5 | 5,617.1 | 94.9 |
| May | 1,936.5 | 428.0 | 77.9 | 2,412 | 0 | 100 |
| June | 1,394.9 | 126.0 | 91.0 | 0 | 58.7 | NR |
| July | 1,755.0 | 22.0 | 98.7 | - | - | - |
| August, first half | 206.5 | 24.2 | 88.3 | - | - | - |
| August, second half | 113.3 | 0 | 100 | - | - | - |
| September, first half | 23.3 | 1.9 | 91.9 | - | - | - |
| September, second half | 55.1 | 5.0 | 90.9 | 19.5 | 5.2 | 73.3 |
| October, first half | 36.3 | 4.5 | 87.6 | - | - | - |
| October, second half | 2.7 | 0 | 100 | 30.4 | 0.7 | 97.6 |
| November | 69.9 | 4.8 | 93.1 | 0.7 | 0 | 100 |
| December | 2.1 | 0 | 100 | 0 | 0 | * |
* Undetermined value or not calculated due to absence of detection; NR—no reduction with treatment; - no result, due to absence of sampling; gc/L: genomic copies per liter of sampled water, calculated with RT-qPCR results (average values of two independent reactions) and data from Table 1.