{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,12]],"date-time":"2026-07-12T05:07:17Z","timestamp":1783832837985,"version":"3.55.0"},"reference-count":33,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"7","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1783641600000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"EPA","award":["R840257"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["R840257"]}]},{"name":"NSF","award":["# 2244396"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["# 2244396"]}]},{"name":"NIH","award":["2U54MD013376-06A1"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2U54MD013376-06A1"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Pathogens"],"abstract":"<jats:p>This study established long-term wastewater surveillance of Aichi virus (AiV) in Maryland. AiV, a member of the Kobuvirus genus associated with acute gastroenteritis, has established itself as an integral marker for wastewater-based monitoring; however, two key research questions remain unaddressed for the Baltimore metropolitan area: (1) whether AiV is consistently detectable in municipal wastewater throughout the year, and (2) whether its concentrations exhibit a measurable seasonal pattern. To address these hypotheses, influent samples were collected on a weekly basis from WWTP-A and WWTP-B from January to December 2023 (with grab sampling conducted at WWTP-A and automated collection deployed for the influent sampling of the water treatment plant B). All samples (n = 51) were subjected to PEG 8000 concentration, RNA extraction, cDNA synthesis, and RT-qPCR quantification. We observed AiV RNA in 94.12% of the samples from both facilities (25\/51 at WWTP-A and 23\/51 at WWTP-B) with concentrations that ranged from 2.5 to 3.63 log10 gc\/L and a seasonal pattern showing consistent declines: loads for WWTP-A declining from winter (3.58 log10 gc\/L) to fall (2.56) and for WWTP-B from winter (3.28 log10 gc\/L) to fall (2.31). The year-round constant AiV presence provides a strong basis for its use as a stable viral marker within wastewater-based epidemiology efforts.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/pathogens15070728","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]],"date-time":"2026-07-10T13:16:28Z","timestamp":1783689388000},"page":"728","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Wastewater Surveillance of Aichi Virus in Baltimore"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"15","author":[{"given":"Daniel A.","family":"Nwaubani","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Research Excellence in Wastewater Based Epidemiology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USA"},{"name":"Bioenvironmental Science Program, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-7499-5109","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rakshya","family":"Baral","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Research Excellence in Wastewater Based Epidemiology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tamunobelema","family":"Solomon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Research Excellence in Wastewater Based Epidemiology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Mustafa","family":"Ali","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Research Excellence in Wastewater Based Epidemiology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Tania","family":"Moharrery","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Research Excellence in Wastewater Based Epidemiology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Samendra P.","family":"Sherchan","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Center of Research Excellence in Wastewater Based Epidemiology, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USA"},{"name":"Bioenvironmental Science Program, Morgan State University, Baltimore, MD 21251, USA"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,10]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Worldometer (2026, March 22). 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