A Simple Method for Concentrating and Detecting Viruses in Water

Abstract

This study examined the possibility of using iron oxide as a “filter bed,” adsorbing, concentrating, and recovering viruses suspended in water. This may provide a simple, economical, and efficient method for the detection of small numbers of viruses in large volumes of water. Preliminary experiments were carried out, using virus levels of 1‐5 plaque‐forming units (pfu) per milliliter; the results were encouraging enough to merit a detailed investigation of the factors involved in the use of magnetic iron oxide for concentrating and recovering viruses in water.