USF researchers discover thousands of viruses in reclaimed water

St. Petersburg, Florida - It's a first of its kind research -- taking a closer look at reclaimed water and just what's in it.

"Before this study, we didn't know what was in the water," said USF PhD. student at USF's College of Marine Science.

Rosario collected, filtered and cataloged the virus content of water. In the reclaimed water in Pinellas and Manatee County she found a thousand fold more viruses.

While the numbers seem intimidating, the viruses don't appear to be a dangerous for humans. "We did find a lot of plant viruses, insect viruses and a couple of animal viruses. We didn't know that all these pathogens are going through the system."

During Rosario's research, she discovered viruses that have yet to be documented.

"We don't need sterile water or virus free water; we need to control the risk for pathogens to spread through the water."

And now through her research, she believes we could be closer to doing just that.