This study investigated the influence of viral interference on the detection of enteric viruses using the integrated cell culture (ICC)-PCR with a BGM cell line. It was possible to detect 102 plaque-forming units (PFU)/flask of enterovirus 71 (EV71) in spite of the presence of 104 PFU/flask of adenovirus 40 (AdV40). Meanwhile, 104 PFU/flask of AdV40 was not detected in the presence of 102 PFU/flask of EV71. This inhibition of AdV40 detection using ICC-PCR was attributable to the growth of EV71, because the addition of a growth inhibitor of EV71 (rupintrivir) neutralized the detection inhibition of AdV40. The growth inhibition of AdV40 under co-infection with EV71 is probably caused by the immune responses of EV71-infected cells. AdV is frequently used as a fecal contamination indicator of environmental water, but this study demonstrated that false-negative detection of infectious AdV using ICC-PCR could be caused by the co-existence of infectious EV in a water sample. The addition of rupintrivir could prevent false-negative detection of AdV using ICC-PCR. This study, therefore, emphasizes the importance of confirming the presence of multiple enteric viruses in a sample derived from environmental water prior to the application of ICC-PCR because the viral interference phenomenon may lead to the false-negative detection of target viruses.
Keywords: Adenovirus; BGM cell line; Enterovirus; Environmental samples; ICC-PCR; Virus interference.