Human adenovirus in tissues of freshwater snails living in contaminated waters J. S. Gularte & R. Staggemeier & M. Demoliner & T. M. S. Heck & F. H. Heldt & R. G. F. Ritzel & C. Rigotto & A. Henzel & F. R. Spilki Received: 18 October 2016 /Accepted: 28 April 2017 # Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2017 Abstract Human adenovirus (HAdV) is resistant to environment and can be used as a marker to detect fecal contamination. Considering the importance of freshwa- ter snails in the aquatic environment, their use as con- centrators for HAdV is a complementary tool for viral analysis of water. The goal of the study was to detect HAdV in snails and surface water collected from wet- lands of the Sinos River (Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil) basin and to compare rates and viral loads found in both samples. HAdV was detected through real-time PCR. Total and fecal coliforms were detected by Colilert ® kit, and viral infectivity of positive samples of the DNA genome was performed in A549 human cell line. All wetlands presented bacterial and viral contamination, but no viral particle was considered viable. The wetland that showed lower fecal coliform mean was Campo Bom, and São Leopoldo (both cities in Rio Grande do Sul) was representative of the highest mean. HAdV was detected in water samples (53%), gastropods’ hemo- lymph (31%) and tissues (16%). Wetlands proved to be environments already altered by human action. Water samples exhibited a higher frequency of HAdV detection; however, in some instances, the target viral genomes were only found in gastropod biological samples. This was a pioneer study in the use of fresh- water snails for human enteric viral assessment thus demonstrating that the human organism can retain fecal contamination, complementing and assisting in micro- biological water analyzes. Keywords HAdV . Freshwater snails . Gastropods . Pomacea canaliculata . Wetlands . qPCR Introduction Wetlands provide many environmental services for the human population. These benefits include water conser- vation, groundwater recharge, retention filters, and deg- radation of polluting materials. Sediment retention and microclimate and river flow regulations may also con- tribute to biodiversity conservation, since many animals and plants depend on the water supply and primary productivity of these areas (Comitesinos 2009; Zelter et al. 2012 ; Ramsar 2013 ; Junk et al. 2014 ). Nonetheless, these ecosystems are considered vulnera- ble and threatened worldwide due to population growth, siltation, excessive drainage, and inadequate pollutant disposal (Carvalho and Ozorio 2007; SCBD 2010). Such environments may thus be impacted, possibly compromising public health, due to contamination by pathogens, heavy metals, and pesticides (Dale and Connelly 2012). Water-related diseases can be of bacterial origin, but are primarily associated with viral pathogens (Bosch et al. 2008). Human adenoviruses (HAdV) are an Environ Monit Assess (2017) 189:276 DOI 10.1007/s10661-017-5979-2 J. S. Gularte : R. Staggemeier : M. Demoliner : T. M. S. Heck : F. H. Heldt : R. G. F. Ritzel : C. Rigotto : A. Henzel (*) : F. R. Spilki Laboratório de Microbiologia Molecular, Instituto de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade Feevale, Prédio Vermelho 2 Andar, Sala 205 RS 239, n 2755, Vila Nova, Novo Hamburgo, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 93352-000, Brazil e-mail: andreiahenzel2@feevale.br