CrAssphage as a Novel Tool to Detect Human Fecal Contamination on Environmental Surfaces and Hands
Geun Woo Park, Terry Fei Fan Ng, Amy Freeland, Vincent C. Marconi, Julie A. Boom, Mary Allen Staat, Anna Montmayeur, Hannah Browne, Jothikumar Narayanan, Daniel C. Payne, Cristina V. Cardemil, Aimee Treffiletti, Jan Vinjé
Abstract
CrAssphage is a recently discovered human gut-associated bacteriophage. To validate the potential use of crAssphage for detecting human fecal contamination on environmental surfaces and hands, we tested stool samples (n = 60), hand samples (n = 30), and environmental swab samples (n = 201) from 17 norovirus outbreaks for crAssphage by real-time PCR. In addition, we tested stool samples from healthy persons (n = 173), respiratory samples (n = 113), and animal fecal specimens (n = 68) and further sequenced positive samples. Overall, we detected crAssphage in 71.4% of outbreak stool samples, 48%-68.5% of stool samples from healthy persons, 56.2% of environmental swabs, and 60% of hand rinse samples, but not in human respiratory samples or animal fecal samples. CrAssphage sequences could be grouped into 2 major genetic clusters. Our data suggest that crAssphage could be used to detect human fecal contamination on environmental surfaces and hands.