Rapid quantification of infectious enterovirus from surface water in Bohai Bay, China using an integrated cell culture-qPCR assay

► ICC-RT-qPCR was confirmed to be a practical assay for monitoring enteroviral contamination of aquatic environments. ► The gene copies of enterovirus correlated to the initial inoculum numbers across 0.05-500 PFU mL−1. ► Using Amicon Ultral-15 centrifugal device to dispose 500-mL seawater is the best concentrated method compared with others. ► Adjusting the pH value of seawater before inoculation is unnecessary. ► Viruses were frozen and thawed one time, the gene copies were significantly higher than other treatments.