This is an award to support research to determine the stability of viral nucleic acids homologous to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) under differing environmental conditions as encountered in primary, secondary and final effluents from domestic wastewater treatment plants, tap water and other aqueous fluids using the polymerase chain reaction method for detection of viral ribonucleic acid in samples being examined. The investigators plan on determining the duration of the persistence of this nucleic acid after the virus has lost its ability to infect cell cultures. This proposal was submitted to NSF under conditions outlined in NSF 89-85, Small Grants for Exploratory Research (SGER). Results of prior studies reporting the presence of nucleic acids "homologous" to the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) in wastewater concentrates suggest the importance of determining whether these nucleic acids are degraded after the ability of this virus to infect cell cultures has been lost. This, in turn, would assist in assessing the potential of infectious viral transmission through environmental media.
