Table 1_High-throughput sequencing reveals the virome characteristics of wastewater in Gansu Province, China from 2024 to 2026.docx

Among human pathogens, astroviruses were consistently detected at high relative abundances across all samples. Human astrovirus 1 accounted for the largest proportion, and a nearly complete genome sequence of the extraintestinal infection-associated astrovirus MLB2 was recovered. Targeted sequencing further revealed a highly structured environmental enterovirus profile dominated by the species Enterovirus betacoxsackie, followed by Enterovirus alphacoxsackie, whereas Enterovirus coxsackiepol was detected at an extremely low abundance and Enterovirus deconjuncti was not detected.

In addition to several common viruses associated with hand, foot, and mouth disease, rare viruses, including coxsackievirus A19 and enterovirus B83, were successfully captured. Echovirus 11 was identified as the predominant enterovirus serotype in current wastewater surveillance in Gansu Province. In summary, this study provides a preliminary characterization of the viral community profiles in wastewater samples from Gansu Province, demonstrates the effectiveness of wastewater-based epidemiology for population-level surveillance, and underscores the need to establish a coordinated defense network integrating clinical case surveillance with environmental monitoring.</p>