Iranian Journal of

Background and Objective: Human adenoviruses transmitted from contaminated water are one of the major pathogens that has been introduced as one of the most important new qualitative water indicators due to their resistance against the purification processes. The main objective of this study was to evaluate efficiency of human adenovirus removal in different units of Isfahan Water Treatment Plant.
Materials and Methods: Sampling was conducted from 5 points of a water treatment plant including raw water, clarifier, ozonation, filtration, and treated water for one year. Virosorb 1MDS electropositive cartridge filter was used for the concentration of water samples. To test the adenovirus antigens, enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was employed. Real-time PCR and PCR were also employed for quantitative identification and genotyping, respectively. Moreover, total and fecal coliform and physicochemical parameters of the samples were measured.
Results: Out of the 60 samples examined, 12 (20%) samples were diagnosed with ELISA and 16 (26.67%) with molecular method. The highest number of adenoviruses detected in autumn was 7 (12%) in raw water influent, 6 (10%) in clarifier, and 3 (5%) samples in ozonation. The high frequency of adenovirus detection was in autumn (50%) and the lowest was in spring (12.5%). Furthermore, it was found that the total coliform in raw water influent was between 10²-10³ CFU/mL.
Conclusion: The results showed that the removal efficiency of adenovirus in filtration and disinfection units of the treatment plant was high and the filtration unit in the plant was an effective unit for the virus removal.
 

Background and Objective: Aflatoxins are secondary metabolites of fungi, which can have very dangerous consequences for human health in addition to spoiling food and changing organoleptic properties. Aflatoxin entering the body and targeting the liver as the main organ involved can cause liver and blood cancer. Hence, the aim of the present study is to measure aflatoxin B1 in corn flour and wheat flour supplied in Shahrekord using ELISA method in 2022.
Materials and Methods: In this study, 40 samples of flour, including 20 samples of corn flour and 20 samples of wheat flour, were randomly sampled from the supply centers and sent to the food hygiene laboratory to track and determine the amount of aflatoxin B1.
Results: The results showed that all samples of wheat flour and corn flour contained aflatoxin 1B. The average of aflatoxin B1 in wheat flour and corn flour was calculated as 2.58 ± 0.95 and 3.47 ± 2.07 (µg/kg) of the sample, respectively; Among the 20 examined samples of corn flour, the concentration of aflatoxin B1 ranged from 3.4 (µg/kg) to 1.9 (µg/kg) and in 20 samples of wheat flour (µg/kg) from 7.90 to (µg/kg) was 1.4; Therefore, the concentration of none of the samples was higher than the Iranian standard.
Conclusion: The occurrence of aflatoxin B1 in all the samples examined in the current study is lower than the risk range determined by the Iranian standard, so in this case, its aasociated high risk does not threaten the health of consumers.