Wastewater Surveillance of Oncogenic Viruses: A Baseline Assessment in Southeast Queensland, Australia
- 1CSIRO Environment, Ecosciences Precinct, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park, QLD 4102, Australia
Abstract
Wastewater surveillance (WS) offers a non-invasive means of tracking population-level circulation of infectious agents, including viruses linked to cancer. This study provides the first Australian assessment of oncogenic viruses in municipal wastewater by screening 76 influent samples collected over four months from six wastewater treatment plants in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Ten gene targets representing seven oncogenic viruses-- Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), human papillomavirus 16 and 18 (HPV-16 and 18), human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV)--were analysed using PCR-based methods. All viruses were detected in wastewater at least once, though with substantial variation in frequency. MCPyV was the most frequently detected virus, appearing in 97.3% of samples with concentrations ranging from 3.09-3.85 log gene copies (GC)/50 mL, indicating widespread population exposure. HBV (26.3%) and EBV (15.8%) were detected intermittently across multiple catchments, while HPV-16/18, HHV-8, HTLV-1, and HCV were detected at the lowest frequencies (<8%). This study reports the first baseline dataset for oncogenic viruses in Australian wastewater. More broadly, positive detection of all targeted oncogenic viruses--including those associated with low-prevalence infections--in wastewater demonstrates the potential of WS to complement existing cancer surveillance systems in tracking community-level circulation of these infectious agents.
Graphical abstract
O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=134 SRC="FIGDIR/small/26362014v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (59K): [email protected]@2a648corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@12f2b9eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1d8baaf_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG HighlightsO_LISeven oncogenic viruses were screened in influent wastewater from six WWTPs. C_LIO_LIMCPyV was detected with the highest frequency, in 97.3% of samples. C_LIO_LIHBV and EBV were detected intermittently across multiple WWTP catchments. C_LIO_LIHPV, HHV-8, HTLV-1 and HCV were detected at the lowest frequencies. C_LIO_LIWastewater surveillance shows promise for monitoring oncogenic viruses. C_LI
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BibTeX
@misc{keller2026wastewater,
title = {{Wastewater Surveillance of Oncogenic Viruses: A Baseline Assessment in Southeast Queensland, Australia}},
author = {R. Keller and M. Gebrewold and W. Smith and R. Verhagen and S. Simpson and C. Hoar and H. G. Healy and W. Ahmed},
howpublished = {medRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = sep,
doi = {10.64898/2026.09.02.26362014},
url = {https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.26362014v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Wastewater Surveillance of Oncogenic Viruses: A Baseline Assessment in Southeast Queensland, Australia
AU - R. Keller
AU - M. Gebrewold
AU - W. Smith
AU - R. Verhagen
AU - S. Simpson
AU - C. Hoar
AU - H. G. Healy
AU - W. Ahmed
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/09/02
PB - medRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.09.02.26362014
UR - https://www.medrxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.09.02.26362014v1
AB - Wastewater surveillance (WS) offers a non-invasive means of tracking population-level circulation of infectious agents, including viruses linked to cancer. This study provides the first Australian assessment of oncogenic viruses in municipal wastewater by screening 76 influent samples collected over four months from six wastewater treatment plants in Southeast Queensland, Australia. Ten gene targets representing seven oncogenic viruses-- Epstein-Barr virus (EBV), hepatitis B virus (HBV), hepatitis C virus (HCV), human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8), human papillomavirus 16 and 18 (HPV-16 and 18), human T-lymphotropic virus type 1 (HTLV-1), and Merkel cell polyomavirus (MCPyV)--were analysed using PCR-based methods. All viruses were detected in wastewater at least once, though with substantial variation in frequency. MCPyV was the most frequently detected virus, appearing in 97.3% of samples with concentrations ranging from 3.09-3.85 log gene copies (GC)/50 mL, indicating widespread population exposure. HBV (26.3%) and EBV (15.8%) were detected intermittently across multiple catchments, while HPV-16/18, HHV-8, HTLV-1, and HCV were detected at the lowest frequencies (<8%). This study reports the first baseline dataset for oncogenic viruses in Australian wastewater. More broadly, positive detection of all targeted oncogenic viruses--including those associated with low-prevalence infections--in wastewater demonstrates the potential of WS to complement existing cancer surveillance systems in tracking community-level circulation of these infectious agents. Graphical abstract O_FIG O_LINKSMALLFIG WIDTH=200 HEIGHT=134 SRC="FIGDIR/small/26362014v1_ufig1.gif" ALT="Figure 1"> View larger version (59K): [email protected]@2a648corg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@12f2b9eorg.highwire.dtl.DTLVardef@1d8baaf_HPS_FORMAT_FIGEXP M_FIG C_FIG HighlightsO_LISeven oncogenic viruses were screened in influent wastewater from six WWTPs. C_LIO_LIMCPyV was detected with the highest frequency, in 97.3% of samples. C_LIO_LIHBV and EBV were detected intermittently across multiple WWTP catchments. C_LIO_LIHPV, HHV-8, HTLV-1 and HCV were detected at the lowest frequencies. C_LIO_LIWastewater surveillance shows promise for monitoring oncogenic viruses. C_LI
ER -