Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MS

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Biology

Committee Chair

Timothy Driscoll

Committee Member

Rita Rio

Committee Member

Jennifer Gallagher

Abstract

Foodborne illnesses are a global public health challenge. Foodborne illnesses, like norovirus, often have a large disease and societal burden. Norovirus is a single-stranded, positive-sense RNA virus, with 10 identified genogroups (GI-GX). Genogroups GI and GII are responsible for nearly all human cases of acute gastroenteritis worldwide. In the United States, HuNoV is not notifiable case-by-case. Instead, outbreaks are reported to national surveillance systems when two or more cases are epidemiologically linked. Most norovirus outbreaks occur during Winter to early Spring, however, certain individuals may still shed and transmit the virus without being detected or reported. Wastewater monitoring is a tool that can reveal insights into population-level health, as well as serving as an early-warning system for potential outbreaks. By quantifying HuNoV GI and GII in wastewater samples, health officials may detect the presence of the virus before an outbreak occurs. In this study, it is demonstrated that HuNoV GI and GII can be consistently detected in wastewater using RT-ddPCR. This study suggests wastewater monitoring for HuNoV GI and GII is effective for observing seasonal trends and can be used in addition to existing surveillance methods to better understand the overall health of WV communities. This data aims to show that routine wastewater testing of WV wastewater is valuable for monitoring of HuNoV outbreaks and better understanding rural community health.

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