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Isanovic M, Correa Velez KE, Norman RS. Dispersion of SARS-CoV-2 RNA across a wastewater treatment plant and its workers. WATER AND ENVIRONMENT JOURNAL : THE JOURNAL 2022; 36:WEJ12812. [PMID: 35942195 PMCID: PMC9349956 DOI: 10.1111/wej.12812] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Revised: 06/23/2022] [Accepted: 06/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
Within urban and suburban sewersheds, SARS-CoV-2 released through faeces is transported through sewage systems into municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Studies have shown that viral RNA is detectable in untreated wastewater but not in WWTP effluent. In this study, we investigated treatment steps between the influent and final treated effluent to identify the point at which viral RNA is below detection. Additionally, we examined air surrounding high turbulence treatment steps to test for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in WWTP-generated bioaerosols. To examine potential worker exposure to SARS-CoV-2, WWTP workers were tested for the presence of viral RNA. The data show that despite high viral RNA concentration in the influent, SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration decreased significantly (p < 0.02) in the main treatment steps and was below detection in the effluent. Additionally, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was below detection in air samples (n = 42), and the worker rate of infection was not significantly different (p = 0.99) from the rate of infection in the surrounding community. These results suggest that WWTP workers may have minimal exposure to SARS-CoV-2 during routine outdoor work procedures and that the WWTP successfully reduces the amount of viral RNA entering effluent receiving waters, providing a vital public health service to communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirza Isanovic
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public HealthUniversity of South CarolinaColumbiaSouth CarolinaUSA
| | - Karlen E. Correa Velez
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public HealthUniversity of South CarolinaColumbiaSouth CarolinaUSA
| | - R. Sean Norman
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Arnold School of Public HealthUniversity of South CarolinaColumbiaSouth CarolinaUSA
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Padilla-Reyes DA, Álvarez MM, Mora A, Cervantes-Avilés PA, Kumar M, Loge FJ, Mahlknecht J. Acquired insights from the long-term surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for COVID-19 monitoring: The case of Monterrey Metropolitan Area (Mexico). ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 210:112967. [PMID: 35189100 PMCID: PMC8853965 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.112967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2021] [Revised: 02/12/2022] [Accepted: 02/14/2022] [Indexed: 05/08/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology offers a time- and cost-effective way to monitor SARS-CoV-2 spread in communities and therefore represents a complement to clinical testing. WBE applicability has been demonstrated in a number of cases over short-term periods as a method for tracking the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 and an early-warning tool for predicting outbreaks in the population. This study reports SARS-CoV-2 viral loads from wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and hospitals over a 6-month period (June to December 2020). Results show that the overall range of viral load in positive tested samples was between 1.2 × 103 and 3.5 × 106 gene copies/l, unveiling that secondary-treated wastewaters mirrored the viral load of influents. The interpretation suggests that the viral titers found in three out of four WWTPs were associated to clinical COVID-19 surveillance indicators preceding 2-7 days the rise of reported clinical cases. The median wastewater detection rate of SARS-CoV-2 was one out of 14,300 reported new cases. Preliminary model estimates of prevalence ranged from 0.02 to 4.6% for the studied period. This comprehensive statistical and epidemiological analysis demonstrates that the applied wastewater-based approach to COVID-19 surveillance is in general consistent and feasible, although there is room for improvements.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego A Padilla-Reyes
- Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur, Monterrey, 64849, Mexico
| | - Mario Moises Álvarez
- Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur, Monterrey, 64849, Mexico
| | - Abrahan Mora
- Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Puebla, Atlixcáyotl 5718, Reserva Territorial Atlixcáyotl, Puebla, 72453, Mexico
| | - Pabel A Cervantes-Avilés
- Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnológico de Monterrey, Campus Puebla, Atlixcáyotl 5718, Reserva Territorial Atlixcáyotl, Puebla, 72453, Mexico
| | - Manish Kumar
- Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies (UPES), Dehradun, 248007, India
| | - Frank J Loge
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of California Davis, One Shields Avenue, Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Jürgen Mahlknecht
- Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Eugenio Garza Sada 2501 Sur, Monterrey, 64849, Mexico.
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53
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Evaluating the impact of sample storage, handling, and technical ability on the decay and recovery of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. PLoS One 2022; 17:e0270659. [PMID: 35749532 PMCID: PMC9232146 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0270659] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 06/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) is useful for tracking and monitoring the level of disease prevalence in a community and has been used extensively to complement clinical testing during the current COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the numerous benefits, sources of variability in sample storage, handling, and processing methods can make WBE data difficult to generalize. We performed an experiment to determine sources of variability in WBE data including the impact of storage time, handling, and processing techniques on the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater influent from three wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) in North Carolina over 19 days. The SARS-CoV-2 concentration in influent samples held at 4°C did not degrade significantly over the 19-day experiment. Heat pasteurization did not significantly impact the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 at two of the three WWTP but did reduce viral recovery at the WWTP with the smallest population size served. On each processing date, one filter from each sample was processed immediately while a replicate filter was frozen at -80°C. Once processed, filters previously frozen were found to contain slightly higher concentrations (<0.2 log copies/L) than their immediately processed counterparts, indicating freezing filters is a viable method for delayed quantification and may even improve recovery at WWTP with low viral concentrations. Investigation of factors contributing to variability during sample processing indicated that analyst experience level contributed significantly (p<0.001) to accepted droplet generation while extraction efficiency and reverse transcription efficiency contributed significantly (p<0.05) to day-to-day SARS-CoV-2 variability. This study provides valuable practical information for minimizing decay and/or loss of SARS CoV-2 in wastewater influent while adhering to safety procedures, promoting efficient laboratory workflows, and accounting for sources of variability.
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54
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Mailepessov D, Arivalan S, Kong M, Griffiths J, Low SL, Chen H, Hapuarachchi HC, Gu X, Lee WL, Alm EJ, Thompson J, Wuertz S, Gin K, Ng LC, Wong JCC. Development of an efficient wastewater testing protocol for high-throughput country-wide SARS-CoV-2 monitoring. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 826:154024. [PMID: 35217043 PMCID: PMC8860745 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.154024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Revised: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 02/16/2022] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based surveillance has been widely used as a non-intrusive tool to monitor population-level transmission of COVID-19. Although various approaches are available to concentrate viruses from wastewater samples, scalable methods remain limited. Here, we sought to identify and evaluate SARS-CoV-2 virus concentration protocols for high-throughput wastewater testing. A total of twelve protocols for polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation and four protocols for ultrafiltration-based approaches were evaluated across two phases. The first phase entailed an initial evaluation using a small sample set, while the second phase further evaluated five protocols using wastewater samples of varying SARS-CoV-2 concentrations. Permutations in the pre-concentration, virus concentration and RNA extraction steps were evaluated. Among PEG-based methods, SARS-CoV-2 virus recovery was optimal with 1) the removal of debris prior to processing, 2) 2 h to 24 h incubation with 8% PEG at 4 °C, 3) 4000 xg or 14,000 xg centrifugation, and 4) a column-based RNA extraction method, yielding virus recovery of 42.4-52.5%. Similarly, the optimal protocol for ultrafiltration included 1) the removal of debris prior to processing, 2) ultrafiltration, and 3) a column-based RNA extraction method, yielding a recovery of 38.2%. This study also revealed that SARS-CoV-2 RNA recovery for samples with higher virus concentration were less sensitive to changes in the PEG method, but permutations in the PEG protocol could significantly impact virus yields when wastewater samples with lower SARS-CoV-2 RNA were used. Although both PEG precipitation and ultrafiltration methods resulted in similar SARS-CoV-2 RNA recoveries, the former method is more cost-effective while the latter method provided operational efficiency as it required a shorter turn-around-time (PEG precipitation, 9-23 h; Ultrafiltration, 5 h). The decision on which method to adopt will thus depend on the use-case for wastewater testing, and the need for cost-effectiveness, sensitivity, operational feasibility and scalability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diyar Mailepessov
- Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, 11 Biopolis Way #06-05/08, Helios Block, Singapore 138667, Singapore
| | - Sathish Arivalan
- Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, 11 Biopolis Way #06-05/08, Helios Block, Singapore 138667, Singapore
| | - Marcella Kong
- Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, 11 Biopolis Way #06-05/08, Helios Block, Singapore 138667, Singapore
| | - Jane Griffiths
- Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, 11 Biopolis Way #06-05/08, Helios Block, Singapore 138667, Singapore
| | - Swee Ling Low
- Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, 11 Biopolis Way #06-05/08, Helios Block, Singapore 138667, Singapore
| | - Hongjie Chen
- Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore 138602, Singapore
| | | | - Xiaoqiong Gu
- Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore 138602, Singapore
| | - Wei Lin Lee
- Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore 138602, Singapore
| | - Eric J Alm
- Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Singapore 138602, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore 138602, Singapore; Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA 02139, USA; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA 02142, USA
| | - Janelle Thompson
- Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore 138602, Singapore; Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore; Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637459, Singapore
| | - Stefan Wuertz
- Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637551, Singapore; School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Karina Gin
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, National University of Singapore, 1 Engineering Drive 2, Singapore 117576, Singapore
| | - Lee Ching Ng
- Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, 11 Biopolis Way #06-05/08, Helios Block, Singapore 138667, Singapore; School of Biological Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639798, Singapore
| | - Judith Chui Ching Wong
- Environmental Health Institute, National Environment Agency, 11 Biopolis Way #06-05/08, Helios Block, Singapore 138667, Singapore.
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55
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Sodhi KK, Singh CK. A systematic review on the occurrence, fate, and remediation of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY : IJEST 2022; 20:8073-8086. [PMID: 35755183 PMCID: PMC9207430 DOI: 10.1007/s13762-022-04326-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/17/2021] [Revised: 03/02/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 06/12/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 has been declared a pandemic by the World Health Organization. Along with impairing the respiratory system, it also affects the gastrointestinal system. By reviewing experiments on the wastewater analysis for the detection of coronavirus, this study explores the fate, persistence, and various remediation strategies for the virus removal from the wastewater. The results indicated that the virus can be detected in the wastewater samples, feces, and sewage, even before the onset of symptoms. Coronavirus can be a potential panzootic disease, as several mammalian species get infected by the deadly virus. The disinfection strategies used earlier for the treatment of wastewater are not sufficient for the removal of viruses from the wastewater. Therefore, concerted efforts should be made to understand their fate, sources, and occurrence in the environmental matrices. To prevent the spread of the panzootic disease, revised guidelines should be issued for the remediation of the virus. Recent viral remediation methods such as membrane bioreactors and advanced oxidation methods can be used. Therefore, the present review puts a light on the current knowledge on the occurrence of coronaviruses in wastewater, the possible sources, fate, and removal strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- K. K. Sodhi
- Department of Zoology, Hansraj College, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007 India
- Department of Zoology, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007 India
| | - C. K. Singh
- Department of Zoology, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007 India
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56
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Yanaç K, Adegoke A, Wang L, Uyaguari M, Yuan Q. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA throughout wastewater treatment plants and a modeling approach to understand COVID-19 infection dynamics in Winnipeg, Canada. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 825:153906. [PMID: 35218826 PMCID: PMC8864809 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153906] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2021] [Revised: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Although numerous studies have detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater and attempted to find correlations between the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and the number of cases, no consensus has been reached on sample collection and processing, and data analysis. Moreover, the fate of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater treatment plants is another issue, specifically regarding the discharge of the virus into environmental settings and the water cycle. The current study monitored SARS-CoV-2 RNA in influent and effluent wastewater samples with three different concentration methods and sludge samples over six months (July to December 2020) to compare different virus concentration methods, assess the fate of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater treatment plants, and describe the potential relationship between SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in influent and infection dynamics. Skimmed milk flocculation (SMF) resulted in 15.27 ± 3.32% recovery of an internal positive control, Armored RNA, and a high positivity rate of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in stored wastewater samples compared to ultrafiltration methods employing a prefiltration step to eliminate solids in fresh wastewater samples. Our results suggested that SARS-CoV-2 RNA may predominate in solids, and therefore, concentration methods focusing on both supernatant and solid fractions may result in better recovery. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in influent and primary sludge samples but not in secondary and final effluent samples, indicating a significant reduction during primary and secondary treatments. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was first detected in influent on September 30th, 2020. A decay-rate formula was applied to estimate initial concentrations of late-processed samples with SMF. A model based on shedding rate and new cases was applied to estimate SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations and the number of active shedders. Inferred sensitivity of observed and modeled concentrations to the fluctuations in new cases and test-positivity rates indicated a potential contribution of newly infected individuals to SARS-CoV-2 RNA loads in wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kadir Yanaç
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Adeola Adegoke
- Department of Statistics, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Liqun Wang
- Department of Statistics, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Miguel Uyaguari
- Department of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada
| | - Qiuyan Yuan
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Canada.
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57
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Tandukar S, Sthapit N, Thakali O, Malla B, Sherchan SP, Shakya BM, Shrestha LP, Sherchand JB, Joshi DR, Lama B, Haramoto E. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater, river water, and hospital wastewater of Nepal. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 824:153816. [PMID: 35157870 PMCID: PMC8832950 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2021] [Revised: 01/22/2022] [Accepted: 02/08/2022] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
The applicability of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been extensively studied throughout the world with remarkable findings. This study reports the presence and reduction of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) at two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of Nepal, along with river water, hospital wastewater (HWW), and wastewater from sewer lines collected between July 2020 and February 2021. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 50%, 54%, 100%, and 100% of water samples from WWTPs, river hospitals, and sewer lines, respectively, by at least one of four quantitative PCR assays tested (CDC-N1, CDC-N2, NIID_2019-nCOV_N, and N_Sarbeco). The CDC-N2 assay detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the highest number of raw influent samples of both WWTPs. The highest concentration was observed for an influent sample of WWTP A (5.5 ± 1.0 log10 genome copies/L) by the N_Sarbeco assay. SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 47% (16/34) of the total treated effluents of WWTPs, indicating that biological treatments installed at the tested WWTPs are not enough to eliminate SARS-CoV-2 RNA. One influent sample was positive for N501Y mutation using the mutation-specific qPCR, highlighting a need for further typing of water samples to detect Variants of Concern. Furthermore, crAssphage-normalized SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in raw wastewater did not show any significant association with the number of new coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases in the whole district where the WWTPs were located, suggesting a need for further studies focusing on suitability of viral as well as biochemical markers as a population normalizing factor. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA before, after, and during the peaking in number of COVID-19 cases suggests that WBE is a useful tool for COVID-19 case estimation in developing countries.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarmila Tandukar
- Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan; Policy Research Institute, Sano Gaucharan, Kathmandu, Nepal
| | - Niva Sthapit
- Department of Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Ocean Thakali
- Department of Engineering, University of Yamanashi, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Bikash Malla
- Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Samendra P Sherchan
- Department of Global Environmental Health Sciences, Tulane University, 1440 Canal Street, Suite 2100, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA; Department of Biology, Morgan State University, 1700 East Cold Spring Lane, Baltimore, MD 21251, USA
| | - Bijay Man Shakya
- Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Laxman P Shrestha
- Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu 1524, Nepal
| | - Jeevan B Sherchand
- Institute of Medicine, Tribhuvan University, Maharajgunj, Kathmandu 1524, Nepal
| | - Dev Raj Joshi
- Central Department of Microbiology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal
| | - Bhupendra Lama
- Central Department of Microbiology, Tribhuvan University, Kirtipur, Nepal
| | - Eiji Haramoto
- Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan.
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58
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Gholipour S, Ghalhari MR, Nikaeen M, Rabbani D, Pakzad P, Miranzadeh MB. Occurrence of viruses in sewage sludge: A systematic review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 824:153886. [PMID: 35182626 PMCID: PMC8848571 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153886] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2021] [Revised: 01/25/2022] [Accepted: 02/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Enteric viruses are of great importance in wastewater due to their high excretion from infected individuals, low removal in wastewater treatment processes, long-time survival in the environment, and low infectious dose. Among the other viruses, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) surveillance in wastewater systems has received particular attention as a result of the current COVID-19 epidemic. Viruses adhering to solid particles in wastewater treatment processes will end up as sewage sludge, and therefore insufficient sludge treatment may result in viral particles dissemination into the environment. Here, we review data on viruses' presence in sewage sludge, their detection and concentration methods, and information on human health issues associated with sewage sludge land application. We used combinations of the following keywords in the Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), and PubMed databases, which were published between 2010 and January 21th, 2022: sludge (sewage sludge, biosolids, sewage solids, wastewater solids) and virus (enteric virus, viral particles, viral contamination, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus). The sources were searched twice, once with and then without the common enteric virus names (adenovirus, rotavirus, norovirus, enterovirus, hepatitis A virus). Studies suggest adenovirus and norovirus as the most prevalent enteric viruses in sewage sludge. Indeed, other viruses include rotavirus, hepatitis A virus, and enterovirus were frequently found in sewage sludge samples. Untreated biological sludge and thickened sludge showed more viral contamination level than digested sludge and the lowest prevalence of viruses was reported in lime stabilized sludge. The review reveals that land application of sewage sludge may pose viral infection risks to people due to accidently ingestion of sludge or intake of crops grown in biosolids amended soil. Moreover, contamination of groundwater and/or surface water may occur due to land application of sewage sludge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sahar Gholipour
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
| | - Mohammad Rezvani Ghalhari
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Public Health, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | - Mahnaz Nikaeen
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Davarkhah Rabbani
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran
| | - Parichehr Pakzad
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Isfahan University of Medical Sciences, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Mohammad Bagher Miranzadeh
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Faculty of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran.
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59
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Extensive Wastewater-Based Epidemiology as a Resourceful Tool for SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance in a Low-to-Middle-Income Country through a Successful Collaborative Quest: WBE, Mobility, and Clinical Tests. WATER 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/w14121842] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged healthcare systems worldwide. Efforts in low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs) cannot keep stride with infection rates, especially during peaks. A strong international collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU), Tec de Monterrey (TEC), and Servicios de Agua y Drenaje de Monterrey (Local Water Utilities) is acting to integrate wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) of SARS-CoV-2 in the region as a complementary approach to aid the healthcare system. Wastewater was collected from four sewer catchments in the Monterrey Metropolitan area in Mexico (pop. 4,643,232) from mid-April 2020 to February 2021 (44 weeks, n = 644). Raw wastewater was filtered and filter-concentrated, the RNA was extracted using columns, and the Charité/Berlin protocol was used for the RT-qPCR. The viral loads obtained between the first (June 2020) and second waves (February 2021) of the pandemic were similar; in contrast, the clinical cases were fewer during the first wave, indicating poor coverage. During the second wave of the pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 quantification in wastewater increased 14 days earlier than the COVID-19 clinical cases reported. This is the first long-term WBE study in Mexico and demonstrates its value in pandemic management.
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60
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Bar-Or I, Indenbaum V, Weil M, Elul M, Levi N, Aguvaev I, Cohen Z, Levy V, Azar R, Mannasse B, Shirazi R, Bucris E, Mor O, Sela Brown A, Sofer D, Zuckerman NS, Mendelson E, Erster O. National Scale Real-Time Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Variants Dynamics by Wastewater Monitoring in Israel. Viruses 2022; 14:1229. [PMID: 35746700 PMCID: PMC9227326 DOI: 10.3390/v14061229] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2022] [Revised: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
In this report, we describe a national-scale monitoring of the SARS-CoV-2 (SC-2) variant dynamics in Israel, using multiple-time sampling of 13 wastewater treatment plants. We used a combination of inclusive and selective quantitative PCR assays that specifically identify variants A19/A20 or B.1.1.7 and tested each sample for the presence and relative viral RNA load of each variant. We show that between December 2020 and March 2021, a complete shift in the SC-2 variant circulation was observed, where the B.1.1.7 replaced the A19 in all examined test points. We further show that the normalized viral load (NVL) values and the average new cases per week reached a peak in January 2021 and then decreased gradually in almost all test points, in parallel with the progression of the national vaccination campaign, during February-March 2021. This study demonstrates the importance of monitoring SC-2 variant by using a combination of inclusive and selective PCR tests on a national scale through wastewater sampling, which is far more amendable for high-throughput monitoring compared with sequencing. This approach may be useful for real-time dynamics surveillance of current and future variants, such as the Omicron (BA.1, BA.2) and other variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Itay Bar-Or
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Victoria Indenbaum
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Merav Weil
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Michal Elul
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Nofar Levi
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Irina Aguvaev
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Zvi Cohen
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Virginia Levy
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Roberto Azar
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Batya Mannasse
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Rachel Shirazi
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Efrat Bucris
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Orna Mor
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Alin Sela Brown
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Danit Sofer
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Neta S. Zuckerman
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
| | - Ella Mendelson
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
- Sackler Faculty of Medicine, School of Public Health, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
| | - Oran Erster
- Central Virology Laboratory, Israel Ministry of Health, Chaim Sheba Medical Center, Ramat Gan 5262000, Israel; (I.B.-O.); (V.I.); (M.W.); (M.E.); (N.L.); (I.A.); (Z.C.); (V.L.); (R.A.); (B.M.); (R.S.); (E.B.); (O.M.); (A.S.B.); (D.S.); (N.S.Z.); (E.M.)
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Wang X, Wu T, Oliveira LFS, Zhang D. Sheet, Surveillance, Strategy, Salvage and Shield in global biodefense system to protect the public health and tackle the incoming pandemics. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 822:153469. [PMID: 35093353 PMCID: PMC8799268 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.153469] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2021] [Revised: 01/23/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
The pandemic of COVID-19 challenges the global health system and raises our concerns on the next waves of other emerging infectious diseases. Considering the lessons from the failure of world's pandemic warning system against COVID-19, many scientists and politicians have mentioned different strategies to improve global biodefense system, among which Sheet, Surveillance, Strategy, Salvage and Shield (5S) are frequently discussed. Nevertheless, the current focus is mainly on the optimization and management of individual strategy, and there are limited attempts to combine the five strategies as an integral global biodefense system. Sheet represents the biosafety datasheet for biohazards in natural environment and human society, which helps our deeper understanding on the geographical pattern, transmission routes and infection mechanism of pathogens. Online surveillance and prognostication network is an environmental Surveillance tool for monitoring the outbreak of pandemic diseases and alarming the risks to take emergency actions, targeting aerosols, waters, soils and animals. Strategy is policies and legislations for social distancing, lockdown and personal protective equipment to block the spread of infectious diseases in communities. Clinical measures are Salvage on patients by innovating appropriate medicines and therapies. The ultimate defensive Shield is vaccine development to protect healthy crowds from infection. Fighting against COVID-19 and other emerging infectious diseases is a long rocky journey, requiring the common endeavors of scientists and politicians from all countries around the world. 5S in global biodefense system bring a ray of light to the current darkest and future road from environmental and geographical perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinzi Wang
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, PR China
| | - Tianyun Wu
- Research Institute for Environmental Innovation (Tsinghua-Suzhou), Suzhou 215163, PR China
| | - Luis F S Oliveira
- Departamento de Ingeniería Civil y Arquitectura, Universidad de Lima, Avenida Javier Prado Este 4600, Santiago de Surco 1503, Peru; Department of Civil and Environmental, Universidad de la Costa, Calle 58 #55-66, 080002 Barranquilla, Atlántico, Colombia
| | - Dayi Zhang
- College of New Energy and Environment, Jilin University, Changchun 130021, PR China.
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Owen C, Wright-Foulkes D, Alvarez P, Delgado H, Durance EC, Wells GF, Poretsky R, Shrestha A. Reduction and discharge of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Chicago-area water reclamation plants. FEMS MICROBES 2022; 3:xtac015. [PMID: 37332512 PMCID: PMC10117756 DOI: 10.1093/femsmc/xtac015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2021] [Revised: 03/14/2022] [Accepted: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 08/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA is commonly excreted in the feces and urine of infected individuals and is, therefore, detected in wastewaters where infection is present in the surrounding population. Water reclamation plants (WRPs) that treat these wastewaters commonly discharge treated effluents into the surrounding environment, yet little is known about the removal or persistence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA through wastewater treatment systems and potential for eventual release into the environment. We collected 361 24-hour composite influent and effluent samples from seven WRPs in the Greater Chicago Area in Illinois. Samples were collected over a period of 21 weeks for three large WRPs (with design max flows of 1.89-2.32 billion gallons per day and serving a combined population of 4.62 million people) and 11 weeks for four smaller WRPs (with design max flows of 96.3-186 million gallons per day and serving a combined population of >0.5 million people). A total of two of the larger WRPs implemented seasonal disinfection (using UV light or chlorination/dechlorination) for 8 weeks of this sampling period. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was quantified in the influent and effluent samples by reverse-transcription quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) of the N1 and N2 targets of the nucleocapsid (N) gene. Although SARS-CoV-2 RNA was regularly detected in influent and effluent from all WRPs, viral RNA concentrations in the effluent samples were considerably lower, with mean effluent: influent gene copy concentration ratios ranging from 1:160 to 1:2.95 between WRPs. Samples collected while disinfection was active vs. inactive did not show any significant difference in the portion of RNA persisting through the treatment process (P > .05).
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Owen
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
| | - Dorothy Wright-Foulkes
- Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
| | - Prisila Alvarez
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
| | - Haidy Delgado
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
| | - Eva C Durance
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
| | - George F Wells
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL 60208, United States
| | - Rachel Poretsky
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60607, United States
| | - Abhilasha Shrestha
- Division of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Illinois Chicago, Chicago, IL 60610, United States
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Yang S, Dong Q, Li S, Cheng Z, Kang X, Ren D, Xu C, Zhou X, Liang P, Sun L, Zhao J, Jiao Y, Han T, Liu Y, Qian Y, Liu Y, Huang X, Qu J. Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater after the end of the COVID-19 epidemics. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 429:128358. [PMID: 35123131 PMCID: PMC8800135 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128358] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Revised: 01/20/2022] [Accepted: 01/23/2022] [Indexed: 05/19/2023]
Abstract
Although the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been widely detected in wastewater in many countries to track the COVID-19 pandemic development, it is still a lack of clear understanding of the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in raw sewage, especially after the end of the COVID-19 pandemic event. To fill this knowledge gap, this study conducted a field trial on the SARS-CoV-2 presence in various wastewater facilities after the end of the COVID-19 epidemics in Beijing. The result showed that the wastewater treatment facility is a large SARS-CoV-2 repository. The viral RNA was still present in hospital sewage for 15 days and was continually detected in municipal WWTPs for more than 19 days after the end of the local COVID-19 epidemics. The T90 values of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA in raw wastewater were 17.17-8.42 days in the wastewater at 4 ℃ and 26 ℃, respectively, meaning that the decay rates of low titer viruses in raw sewage were much faster. The results confirmed that the SARS-CoV-2 RNA could persist in wastewater for more than two weeks, especially at lower temperatures. The sewage systems would be a virus repository and prolong the presence of the residual SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The study could enhance further understanding of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in raw wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shaolin Yang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China
| | - Qian Dong
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China
| | - Siqi Li
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China
| | - Zhao Cheng
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China
| | - Xiaofeng Kang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China
| | - Daheng Ren
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China
| | - Chenyang Xu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China
| | - Xiaohong Zhou
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China
| | - Peng Liang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China
| | - Lingli Sun
- Beijing Chaoyang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, PR China
| | - Jianhong Zhao
- Beijing Chaoyang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, PR China
| | - Yang Jiao
- Beijing Chaoyang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, PR China
| | - Taoli Han
- Beijing Chaoyang Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing 100021, PR China
| | - Yanchen Liu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China.
| | - Yi Qian
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China
| | - Yi Liu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China
| | - Xia Huang
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China.
| | - Jiuhui Qu
- State Key Joint Laboratory of Environment Simulation and Pollution Control, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing 10084, PR China; Key Laboratory of Drinking Water Science and Technology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100085, PR China
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Adhikari S, Halden RU. Opportunities and limits of wastewater-based epidemiology for tracking global health and attainment of UN sustainable development goals. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2022; 163:107217. [PMID: 35395576 PMCID: PMC9815123 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2022.107217] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 03/25/2022] [Indexed: 05/11/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) emerged as a powerful, actionable health management tool during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hypothesizing future uses, we explored its potential for real-time, tracking of progress in attaining United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) globally as a non-expensive method using existing infrastructure. We inventoried (i) literature-documented sewerage infrastructure, (ii) demographics of populations served, and (iii) WBE markers informative of 9 SDGs. Among the 17 different sustainable development goals listed by the UN 2030 agenda, more than half of these may be monitored by using WBE monitoring at centralized treatment infrastructure as tabulated in this study. Driven mainly by COVID-19, WBE currently is practiced in at least 55 countries, reaching about 300 million people. Expansion of WBE to 109,000 + treatment plants inventoried in 129 countries would increase global coverage 9-fold to 34.7% or 2.7 billion, leaving out 5 billion people not served by centralized sewerage systems. Associations between population demographics and present-day infrastructure are explored, and geospatial regions particularly vulnerable to infectious disease outbreaks are identified. The results suggest that difference in the differential outcomes in well-being is an outcome of the sanitation infrastructure inequalities and lack of sanitation infrastructure creates doubly disadvantaged populations at risk of poor hygiene and cut off from the early-warning benefits of conventional WBE. This is the first study to explore the feasibility and potential barriers to the use of WBE for tracking the attainment of SDGs globally with at least 9 out of 17 SDGs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sangeet Adhikari
- School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Biodesign Center for Environmental Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Rolf U Halden
- School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Biodesign Center for Environmental Engineering, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; OneWaterOneHealth, Nonprofit Project of the Arizona State University Foundation, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Global Futures Laboratory, Arizona State University, 800 S. Cady Mall, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA.
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Foladori P, Cutrupi F, Cadonna M, Manara S. Coronaviruses and SARS-CoV-2 in sewerage and their removal: Step by step in wastewater treatment plants. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 207:112204. [PMID: 34656637 PMCID: PMC8516124 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2021] [Revised: 10/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/06/2021] [Indexed: 05/25/2023]
Abstract
The fate of Coronaviruses (CoVs) and in particular SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has not been completely understood yet, but an adequate knowledge on the removal performances in WWTPs could help to prevent waterborne transmission of the virus that is still under debate. CoVs and SARS-CoV-2 are discharged from faeces into the sewer network and reach WWTPs within a few hours. This review presents the fate of SARS-CoV-2 and other CoVs in the primary, secondary and tertiary treatments of WWTPs as well as in sludge treatments. The viral loads decrease progressively along with the treatments from 20 to 3.0E+06 GU/L (Genomic Units/L) in the influent wastewater to concentrations below 2.50E+05 GU/L after secondary biological treatments and finally to negative concentrations (below detection limit) in disinfected effluents. Reduction of CoVs is due to (i) natural decay under unfavourable conditions (solids, microorganisms, temperature) for relatively long hydraulic retention times and (ii) processes of sedimentation, filtration, predation, adsorption, disinfection. In primary and secondary settling, due to the hydrophobic properties, a partial accumulation of CoVs may occur in the separated sludge. In secondary treatment (i.e. activated sludge) CoVs and SARS-CoV-2 loads can be reduced only by about one logarithm (∼90%). To enhance this removal, tertiary treatment with ultrafiltration (Membrane Bioreactors) and chemical disinfection or UV light is needed. CoVs and SARS-CoV-2 in the sludge (1.2E+04-4.6E+08 GU/L) can be inactivated significantly in the thermophilic digestion (55 °C), while mesophilic temperatures (33-37 °C) are not efficient. Additional studies are required to investigate the infectivity of SARS-CoV-2 in WWTPs, especially in view of increasing interest in wastewater reclamation and reuse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paola Foladori
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM) - University of Trento, via Mesiano, n. 77, 38123, Trento, Italy.
| | - Francesca Cutrupi
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM) - University of Trento, via Mesiano, n. 77, 38123, Trento, Italy
| | - Maria Cadonna
- ADEP - Agenzia per la Depurazione, Autonomous Province of Trento, via Gilli, n. 3, 38121, Trento, Italy
| | - Serena Manara
- Department of Cellular Computational and Integrative Biology (CIBIO) - University of Trento, via Sommarive, n. 9, 38123, Trento, Italy
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Nelson J, Lu A, Maestre J, Palmer E, Jarma D, Kinney K, Grubesic T, Kirisits M. Space-time analysis of COVID-19 cases and SARS-CoV-2 wastewater loading: A geodemographic perspective. Spat Spatiotemporal Epidemiol 2022; 42:100521. [PMID: 35934330 PMCID: PMC9142176 DOI: 10.1016/j.sste.2022.100521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2021] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 05/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome - coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) continues to effect communities across the world. One way to combat these effects is to enhance our collective ability to remotely monitor community spread. Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is one approach that enables researchers to estimate the total number of infected people in a region; however, estimates are often made at the sewershed level which may mask the geographic nuance required for targeted interdiction efforts. In this work, we utilize an apportioning method to compare the spatial and temporal trends of daily case count with the temporal pattern of viral load in the wastewater at smaller units of analysis within Austin, TX. We find different lag-times between wastewater loading and case reports. Daily case reports for some locations follow the temporal trend of viral load more closely than others. These findings are then compared to socio-demographic characteristics across the study area.
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Brnić D, Lojkić I, Škoko I, Krešić N, Šimić I, Keros T, Ganjto M, Štefanac D, Viduka B, Karšaj D, Štiler D, Habrun B, Jemeršić L. SARS-CoV-2 circulation in Croatian wastewaters and the absence of SARS-CoV-2 in bivalve molluscan shellfish. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 207:112638. [PMID: 34990611 PMCID: PMC8721915 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112638] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/26/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
The circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in the environment has been confirmed numerous times, whilst research on the bioaccumulation in bivalve molluscan shellfish (BMS) has been rather scarce. The present study aimed to fulfil the knowledge gap on SARS-CoV-2 circulation in wastewaters and surface waters in this region and to extend the current knowledge on potential presence of SARS-CoV-2 contamination in BMS. The study included 13 archive wastewater and surface water samples from the start of epidemic and 17 influents and effluents from nine wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) of different capacity and treatment stage, sampled during the second epidemic wave. From that period are the most of 77 collected BMS samples, represented by mussels, oysters and warty venus clams harvested along the Dalmatian coast. All samples were processed according to EN ISO 15216-1 2017 using Mengovirus as a whole process control. SARS-CoV-2 detection was performed by real-time and conventional RT-PCR assays targeting E, N and nsp14 protein genes complemented with nsp14 partial sequencing. Rotavirus A (RVA) real-time RT-PCR assay was implemented as an additional evaluation criterion of virus concentration techniques. The results revealed the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in nine influents and two secondary treatment effluents from eight WWTPs, while all samples from the start of epidemic (wastewaters, surface waters) were negative which was influenced by sampling strategy. All tertiary effluents and BMS were SARS-CoV-2 negative. The results of RVA amplification were beneficial in evaluating virus concentration techniques and provided insights into RVA dynamics within the environment and community. In conclusion, the results of the present study confirm SARS-CoV-2 circulation in Croatian wastewaters during the second epidemic wave while extending the knowledge on wastewater treatment potential in SARS-CoV-2 removal. Our findings represent a significant contribution to the current state of knowledge that considers BMS of a very low food safety risk regarding SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dragan Brnić
- Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
| | - Ivana Lojkić
- Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ines Škoko
- Croatian Veterinary Institute, Veterinary Department Split, Poljička cesta 33, 21000, Split, Croatia
| | - Nina Krešić
- Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Ivana Šimić
- Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia; Ruđer Bošković Institute, Bijenička cesta 54, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Tomislav Keros
- Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Marin Ganjto
- Zagreb Wastewater Ltd., Čulinečka cesta 287, 10040, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Dario Štefanac
- Vodovod i kanalizacija d.o.o., Gažanski trg 8, 47000, Karlovac, Croatia
| | - Branka Viduka
- Odvodnja d.o.o., Hrvatskog sabora 2D, 23000, Zadar, Croatia
| | - Dario Karšaj
- Vodovod d.o.o., Nikole Zrinskog 25, 35000, Slavonski brod, Croatia
| | - Darko Štiler
- Vinkovački vodovod i kanalizacija d.o.o., Ulica Dragutina Žanića Karle 47a, 32100, Vinkovci, Croatia
| | - Boris Habrun
- Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Lorena Jemeršić
- Croatian Veterinary Institute, Savska cesta 143, 10000, Zagreb, Croatia.
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Carraturo F, Panico A, Giordano A, Libralato G, Aliberti F, Galdiero E, Guida M. Hygienic assessment of digestate from a high solids anaerobic co-digestion of sewage sludge with biowaste by testing Salmonella Typhimurium, Escherichia coli and SARS-CoV-2. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 206:112585. [PMID: 34922984 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112585] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Revised: 12/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/13/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Anaerobic digestion is a consolidated technology to convert sewage sludge and other organic wastes into biogas and a nutrient-rich fertilizer (i.e. digestate). The origin of sewage sludge does not exclude the potential presence of pathogens (e.g. Salmonella spp. and SARS-CoV-2) in mature digestate that hence could represent a source of sanitary concerns when it is spread on soil for agriculture purpose. Therefore, an experimental study aimed at proving the sanitizing effect of a full scale thermophilic high solids anaerobic digestion process was conducted by monitoring the hygienic characteristics of mature digestate. Although Salmonella spp. was detected in the sewage sludge fed to the full scale plant, the anaerobic digestion treatment demonstrated sanitization capacity since the monitored pathogens were never found in the mature digestate over the entire duration of the monitoring survey. Furthermore, tests on the regrowth of Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli, artificially inoculated on mature digestate, were also conducted under both anaerobic and aerobic conditions with the aim to assess the effectiveness of mature digestate as microbial growth medium. Concentrations of Salmonella Typhimurium and Escherichia coli were drastically reduced after a short time of incubation under anaerobic process and the two microorganisms already resulted undetectable after 24-48 h, whereas, under aerobic conditions, two microorganisms' concentrations were stably high for longer than 10 days. The combination of no free oxygen, high temperature, anaerobic metabolites (e.g. total ammonium nitrogen, and volatile fatty acids) production, bacteria competition and lack of nutritional elements in mature digestate considerably reduced in 24-48 h the sanitary risks associated to accidently contaminated digestate. Furthermore, a SARS-CoV-2 monitoring survey on mature digestate during 13 months, resulted in the absence of the virus RNA in the analyzed digestate.
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Affiliation(s)
- Federica Carraturo
- Hygiene Laboratories, Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, I, 80126, Naples, Italy
| | - Antonio Panico
- Department of Engineering, University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli", Real Casa dell'Annunziata, via Roma 29, 81031, Aversa, CE, Italy.
| | - Andrea Giordano
- Acqua & Sole srl, Via Giulio Natta, 27010, Vellezzo Bellini, PV, Italy
| | - Giovanni Libralato
- Hygiene Laboratories, Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, I, 80126, Naples, Italy
| | - Francesco Aliberti
- Hygiene Laboratories, Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, I, 80126, Naples, Italy
| | - Emilia Galdiero
- Hygiene Laboratories, Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, I, 80126, Naples, Italy
| | - Marco Guida
- Hygiene Laboratories, Department of Biology, University of Naples Federico II, Via Cinthia 21, I, 80126, Naples, Italy
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Xiao A, Wu F, Bushman M, Zhang J, Imakaev M, Chai PR, Duvallet C, Endo N, Erickson TB, Armas F, Arnold B, Chen H, Chandra F, Ghaeli N, Gu X, Hanage WP, Lee WL, Matus M, McElroy KA, Moniz K, Rhode SF, Thompson J, Alm EJ. Metrics to relate COVID-19 wastewater data to clinical testing dynamics. WATER RESEARCH 2022; 212:118070. [PMID: 35101695 PMCID: PMC8758950 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2021] [Revised: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/02/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater surveillance has emerged as a useful tool in the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic. While wastewater surveillance has been applied at various scales to monitor population-level COVID-19 dynamics, there is a need for quantitative metrics to interpret wastewater data in the context of public health trends. 24-hour composite wastewater samples were collected from March 2020 through May 2021 from a Massachusetts wastewater treatment plant and SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations were measured using RT-qPCR. The relationship between wastewater copy numbers of SARS-CoV-2 gene fragments and COVID-19 clinical cases and deaths varies over time. We demonstrate the utility of three new metrics to monitor changes in COVID-19 epidemiology: (1) the ratio between wastewater copy numbers of SARS-CoV-2 gene fragments and clinical cases (WC ratio), (2) the time lag between wastewater and clinical reporting, and (3) a transfer function between the wastewater and clinical case curves. The WC ratio increases after key events, providing insight into the balance between disease spread and public health response. Time lag and transfer function analysis showed that wastewater data preceded clinically reported cases in the first wave of the pandemic but did not serve as a leading indicator in the second wave, likely due to increased testing capacity, which allows for more timely case detection and reporting. These three metrics could help further integrate wastewater surveillance into the public health response to the COVID-19 pandemic and future pandemics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Xiao
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA
| | - Fuqing Wu
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA
| | - Mary Bushman
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University USA
| | - Jianbo Zhang
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA
| | | | - Peter R Chai
- Division of Medical Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School USA; The Fenway Institute, Fenway Health, Boston, MA USA; The Koch Institute for Integrated Cancer Research, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA; Department of Psychosocial Oncology and Palliative Care, Dana Farber Cancer Institute USA
| | | | | | - Timothy B Erickson
- Division of Medical Toxicology, Department of Emergency Medicine, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School USA; Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard University USA
| | - Federica Armas
- Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore
| | - Brian Arnold
- Department of Computer Science, Princeton University USA; Center for Statistics and Machine Learning, Princeton University USA
| | - Hongjie Chen
- Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore
| | - Franciscus Chandra
- Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore
| | | | - Xiaoqiong Gu
- Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore
| | - William P Hanage
- Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University USA
| | - Wei Lin Lee
- Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore
| | | | | | - Katya Moniz
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA
| | | | - Janelle Thompson
- Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore; Singapore Centre for Environmental Life Sciences Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Asian School of the Environment, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Eric J Alm
- Department of Biological Engineering, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA; Center for Microbiome Informatics and Therapeutics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology USA; Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology, Antimicrobial Resistance Interdisciplinary Research Group, Singapore; Campus for Research Excellence and Technological Enterprise (CREATE), Singapore; Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, MA USA.
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70
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Espinosa MF, Verbyla ME, Vassalle L, Leal C, Leroy-Freitas D, Machado E, Fernandes L, Rosa-Machado AT, Calábria J, Chernicharo C, Mota Filho CR. Reduction and liquid-solid partitioning of SARS-CoV-2 and adenovirus throughout the different stages of a pilot-scale wastewater treatment plant. WATER RESEARCH 2022; 212:118069. [PMID: 35077942 PMCID: PMC8759026 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2022.118069] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Investigating waterborne viruses is of great importance to minimizing risks to public health. Viruses tend to adsorb to sludge particles from wastewater processes by electrostatic and hydrophobic interactions between virus, aquatic matrix, and particle surface. Sludge is often re-used in agriculture; therefore, its evaluation is also of great interest to public health. In the present study, a pilot scale system treating real domestic wastewater from a large city in Brazil was used to evaluate the removal, the overall reduction, and liquid-solid partitioning of human adenovirus (HAdV), the novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and fecal indicators (F-specific coliphages and E. coli). The system consists of a high-rate algal pond (HRAP) post-treating the effluent of an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor. Samples were collected from the influent and effluent of each unit, as well as from the sludge of the UASB and from the microalgae biomass in the HRAP. Pathogens and indicators were quantified by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) (for HAdV), qPCR with reverse transcription (RTqPCR) (for SARS-CoV-2), the double agar plaque assay (for coliphages), and the most probable number (MPN) method (for E. coli). The removal and overall reduction of HAdV and SARS-CoV-2 was greater than 1-log10. Almost 60% of remaining SARS-CoV-2 RNA and more than 70% of remaining HAdV DNA left the system in the sludge, demonstrating that both viruses may have affinity for solids. Coliphages showed a much lower affinity to solids, with only 3.7% leaving the system in the sludge. The system performed well in terms of the removal of organic matter and ammoniacal nitrogen, however tertiary treatment would be necessary to provide further pathogen reduction, if the effluent is to be reused in agriculture. To our knowledge, this is the first study that evaluated the reduction and partitioning of SARS-CoV-2 and HAdV through the complete cycle of a wastewater treatment system consisting of a UASB reactor followed by HRAPs.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Lucas Vassalle
- Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Cintia Leal
- Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | | | - Elayne Machado
- Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Luyara Fernandes
- Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | | | - Juliana Calábria
- Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
| | - Carlos Chernicharo
- Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais 31270-901, Brazil
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71
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Vallejo JA, Trigo-Tasende N, Rumbo-Feal S, Conde-Pérez K, López-Oriona Á, Barbeito I, Vaamonde M, Tarrío-Saavedra J, Reif R, Ladra S, Rodiño-Janeiro BK, Nasser-Ali M, Cid Á, Veiga M, Acevedo A, Lamora C, Bou G, Cao R, Poza M. Modeling the number of people infected with SARS-COV-2 from wastewater viral load in Northwest Spain. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 811:152334. [PMID: 34921882 PMCID: PMC8674110 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2021] [Revised: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 12/07/2021] [Indexed: 05/16/2023]
Abstract
The quantification of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA load in wastewater has emerged as a useful tool to monitor COVID-19 outbreaks in the community. This approach was implemented in the metropolitan area of A Coruña (NW Spain), where wastewater from a treatment plant was analyzed to track the epidemic dynamics in a population of 369,098 inhabitants. Viral load detected in the wastewater and the epidemiological data from A Coruña health system served as main sources for statistical models developing. Regression models described here allowed us to estimate the number of infected people (R2 = 0.9), including symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals. These models have helped to understand the real magnitude of the epidemic in a population at any given time and have been used as an effective early warning tool for predicting outbreaks in A Coruña municipality. The methodology of the present work could be used to develop a similar wastewater-based epidemiological model to track the evolution of the COVID-19 epidemic anywhere in the world where centralized water-based sanitation systems exist.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan A Vallejo
- Microbiology Research Group, University Hospital Complex (CHUAC), Institute of Biomedical Research (INIBIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Servicio de Microbiología, 3(a) planta, Edificio Sur, Hospital Universitario, As Xubias, 15006, A Coruña, CIBER de enfermedades infecciosas, Spain
| | - Noelia Trigo-Tasende
- Microbiology Research Group, University Hospital Complex (CHUAC), Institute of Biomedical Research (INIBIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Servicio de Microbiología, 3(a) planta, Edificio Sur, Hospital Universitario, As Xubias, 15006, A Coruña, CIBER de enfermedades infecciosas, Spain
| | - Soraya Rumbo-Feal
- Microbiology Research Group, University Hospital Complex (CHUAC), Institute of Biomedical Research (INIBIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Servicio de Microbiología, 3(a) planta, Edificio Sur, Hospital Universitario, As Xubias, 15006, A Coruña, CIBER de enfermedades infecciosas, Spain
| | - Kelly Conde-Pérez
- Microbiology Research Group, University Hospital Complex (CHUAC), Institute of Biomedical Research (INIBIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Servicio de Microbiología, 3(a) planta, Edificio Sur, Hospital Universitario, As Xubias, 15006, A Coruña, CIBER de enfermedades infecciosas, Spain
| | - Ángel López-Oriona
- Research Group MODES, Research Center for Information and Communication Technologies (CITIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Facultade de Informática, Campus de Elviña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
| | - Inés Barbeito
- Research Group MODES, Research Center for Information and Communication Technologies (CITIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Facultade de Informática, Campus de Elviña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
| | - Manuel Vaamonde
- Research Group MODES, Research Center for Information and Communication Technologies (CITIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Facultade de Informática, Campus de Elviña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain
| | - Javier Tarrío-Saavedra
- Research Group MODES, Research Center for Information and Communication Technologies (CITIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Facultade de Informática, Campus de Elviña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain.
| | - Rubén Reif
- Centro Singular de Investigación en Química Biolóxica e Materiais Moleculares (CiQUS), Universidade de Santiago de Compostela, 15782-Santiago de Compostela, Spain
| | - Susana Ladra
- Database Laboratory, Research Center for Information and Communication Technologies (CITIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Campus de Elviña, 15008 A Coruña, Spain
| | - Bruno K Rodiño-Janeiro
- BFlow, Campus Vida, Universidade Santiago de Compostela and Instituto de Investigatión Sanitaria de Santiago de Compostela, Edificio Emprendia, Avenida do Mestre Mateo, 2, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Mohammed Nasser-Ali
- Microbiology Research Group, University Hospital Complex (CHUAC), Institute of Biomedical Research (INIBIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Servicio de Microbiología, 3(a) planta, Edificio Sur, Hospital Universitario, As Xubias, 15006, A Coruña, CIBER de enfermedades infecciosas, Spain
| | - Ángeles Cid
- Department of Biology, University of A Coruña (UDC), Campus da Zapateira, 15071 A Coruña, Spain; Advanced Scientific Research Center (CICA), University of A Coruña (UDC), As Carballeiras, Campus de Elviña 15071 A Coruña, Spain
| | - María Veiga
- Advanced Scientific Research Center (CICA), University of A Coruña (UDC), As Carballeiras, Campus de Elviña 15071 A Coruña, Spain
| | - Antón Acevedo
- General Directorate of Social Health Care, Xunta de Galicia, Edificios Administrativos, San Caetano s/n, 15781 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain
| | - Carlos Lamora
- Public Wastewater Treatment Plant Company EDAR Bens, S.A., Lugar de Bens, 15010 A Coruña, Spain
| | - Germán Bou
- Microbiology Research Group, University Hospital Complex (CHUAC), Institute of Biomedical Research (INIBIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Servicio de Microbiología, 3(a) planta, Edificio Sur, Hospital Universitario, As Xubias, 15006, A Coruña, CIBER de enfermedades infecciosas, Spain
| | - Ricardo Cao
- Research Group MODES, Research Center for Information and Communication Technologies (CITIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Facultade de Informática, Campus de Elviña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain; Technological Institute for Industrial Mathematics (ITMATI), Universities of A Coruña (UDC), Santiago de Compostela (USC) and Vigo (UVIGO), Campus Vida, Rúa de Constantino Candeira, 15705 Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
| | - Margarita Poza
- Microbiology Research Group, University Hospital Complex (CHUAC), Institute of Biomedical Research (INIBIC), University of A Coruña (UDC), Servicio de Microbiología, 3(a) planta, Edificio Sur, Hospital Universitario, As Xubias, 15006, A Coruña, CIBER de enfermedades infecciosas, Spain; Department of Biology, University of A Coruña (UDC), Campus da Zapateira, 15071 A Coruña, Spain; Advanced Scientific Research Center (CICA), University of A Coruña (UDC), As Carballeiras, Campus de Elviña 15071 A Coruña, Spain.
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72
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Twigg C, Wenk J. Review and Meta‐Analysis: SARS‐CoV‐2 and Enveloped Virus Detection in Feces and Wastewater. CHEMBIOENG REVIEWS 2022. [PMCID: PMC9083821 DOI: 10.1002/cben.202100039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/05/2022]
Abstract
Detection and quantification of viruses supplies key information on their spread and allows risk assessment for public health. In wastewater, existing detection methods have been focusing on non‐enveloped enteric viruses due to enveloped virus transmission, such as coronaviruses, by the fecal‐oral route being less likely. Since the beginning of the SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic, interest and importance of enveloped virus detection in wastewater has increased. Here, quantitative studies on SARS‐CoV‐2 occurrence in feces and raw wastewater and other enveloped viruses via quantitative real‐time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT‐qPCR) during the early stage of the pandemic until April 2021 are reviewed, including statistical evaluation of the positive detection rate and efficiency throughout the detection process involving concentration, extraction, and amplification stages. Optimized and aligned sampling protocols and concentration methods for enveloped viruses, along with SARS‐CoV‐2 surrogates, in wastewater environments may improve low and variable recovery rates providing increased detection efficiency and comparable data on viral load measured across different studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Charlotte Twigg
- University of Bath Department of Chemical Engineering and Water Innovation and Research Centre (WIRC@Bath) Claverton Down BA2 7AY Bath Somerset United Kingdom
| | - Jannis Wenk
- University of Bath Department of Chemical Engineering and Water Innovation and Research Centre (WIRC@Bath) Claverton Down BA2 7AY Bath Somerset United Kingdom
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73
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Habtewold J, McCarthy D, McBean E, Law I, Goodridge L, Habash M, Murphy HM. Passive sampling, a practical method for wastewater-based surveillance of SARS-CoV-2. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 204:112058. [PMID: 34516976 PMCID: PMC8433097 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.112058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2021] [Revised: 09/09/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
In search of practical and affordable tools for wastewater-based surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), three independent field experiments were conducted using three passive sampler sorbents (electronegative membrane, cotton bud, and gauze) in Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Total daily cases during this study ranged from 2 to 17/100,000 people and 43/54 traditionally collected wastewater samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 with mean detectable concentrations ranging from 8.4 to 1780 copies/ml. Viral levels on the passive samplers were assessed after 4, 8, 24, 48, 72, and 96 hrs of deployment in the wastewater and 43/54 membrane, 42/54 gauze, and 27/54 cotton bud samples were positive. A linear accumulation rate of SARS-CoV-2 on the membranes was observed up to 48 hours, suggesting the passive sampler could adequately reflect wastewater levels for up to two days of deployment. Due the variability in accumulation observed for the cotton buds and gauzes, and the pre-processing steps required for the gauzes, we recommend membrane filters as a simple cost-effective option for wastewater-based surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jemaneh Habtewold
- Water, Health and Applied Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - David McCarthy
- Environmental and Public Health Microbiology Laboratory (EPHM Lab), Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Australia
| | - Edward McBean
- School of Engineering, University of Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Ilya Law
- Water, Health and Applied Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Larry Goodridge
- Department of Food Science, University of Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Marc Habash
- School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada
| | - Heather M Murphy
- Water, Health and Applied Microbiology Laboratory, Department of Pathobiology, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, ON, N1G 2W1, Canada.
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74
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Kaya D, Niemeier D, Ahmed W, Kjellerup BV. Evaluation of multiple analytical methods for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in wastewater samples. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 808:152033. [PMID: 34883175 PMCID: PMC8648376 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.152033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 18.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2021] [Revised: 11/21/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
In this study, 14 virus concentration protocols based on centrifugation, filtration, polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation and ultrafiltration were tested for their efficacy for the quantification of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples. These protocols were paired with four RNA extraction procedures resulting in a combination of 50 unique approaches. Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) was used as a process control and seeded in each wastewater sample subjected to all 50 protocols. The recovery of BRSV obtained through the application of 50 unique approaches ranged from <0.03 to 64.7% (±1.6%). Combination of centrifugation as the solid removal step, ultrafiltration (Amicon-UF-15; 100 kDa cut-off; protocol 9) as the primary virus concentration method, and Zymo Quick-RNA extraction kit provided the highest BRSV recovery (64.7 ± 1.6%). To determine the impact of prolonged storage of large wastewater sample volume (900 mL) at -20 °C on enveloped virus decay, the BRSV seeded wastewaters samples were stored at -20 °C up to 110 days and analyzed using the most efficient concentration (protocol 9) and extraction (Zymo Quick-RNA kit) methods. BRSV RNA followed a first-order decay rate (k = 0.04/h with r2 = 0.99) in wastewater. Finally, 21 wastewater influent samples from five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in southern Maryland, USA were analyzed between May to August 2020 to determine SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was quantifiable in 17/21 (81%) of the influent wastewater samples with concentration ranging from 1.10 (±0.10) × 104 to 2.38 (±0.16) × 106 gene copies/L. Among the RT-qPCR assays tested, US CDC N1 assay was the most sensitive followed by US CDC N2, E_Sarbeco, and RdRp assays. Data presented in this study may enhance our understanding on the effective concentration and extraction of SARS-CoV-2 from wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devrim Kaya
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1147 Glenn L. Martin Hall, USA.
| | - Debra Niemeier
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1147 Glenn L. Martin Hall, USA; Maryland Transportation Institute, 3244 Jeong H. Kim Engineering Bldng, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| | - Warish Ahmed
- CSIRO Land and Water, Ecosciences Precinct, 41 Boggo Road, Dutton Park 4102, QLD, Australia
| | - Birthe V Kjellerup
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, 1147 Glenn L. Martin Hall, USA.
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75
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Wade MJ, Lo Jacomo A, Armenise E, Brown MR, Bunce JT, Cameron GJ, Fang Z, Farkas K, Gilpin DF, Graham DW, Grimsley JMS, Hart A, Hoffmann T, Jackson KJ, Jones DL, Lilley CJ, McGrath JW, McKinley JM, McSparron C, Nejad BF, Morvan M, Quintela-Baluja M, Roberts AMI, Singer AC, Souque C, Speight VL, Sweetapple C, Walker D, Watts G, Weightman A, Kasprzyk-Hordern B. Understanding and managing uncertainty and variability for wastewater monitoring beyond the pandemic: Lessons learned from the United Kingdom national COVID-19 surveillance programmes. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 424:127456. [PMID: 34655869 PMCID: PMC8498793 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2021.127456] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 40.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/13/2021] [Revised: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has put unprecedented pressure on public health resources around the world. From adversity, opportunities have arisen to measure the state and dynamics of human disease at a scale not seen before. In the United Kingdom, the evidence that wastewater could be used to monitor the SARS-CoV-2 virus prompted the development of National wastewater surveillance programmes. The scale and pace of this work has proven to be unique in monitoring of virus dynamics at a national level, demonstrating the importance of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for public health protection. Beyond COVID-19, it can provide additional value for monitoring and informing on a range of biological and chemical markers of human health. A discussion of measurement uncertainty associated with surveillance of wastewater, focusing on lessons-learned from the UK programmes monitoring COVID-19 is presented, showing that sources of uncertainty impacting measurement quality and interpretation of data for public health decision-making, are varied and complex. While some factors remain poorly understood, we present approaches taken by the UK programmes to manage and mitigate the more tractable sources of uncertainty. This work provides a platform to integrate uncertainty management into WBE activities as part of global One Health initiatives beyond the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew J Wade
- UK Health Security Agency, Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, Windsor House, Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL, UK; Newcastle University, School of Engineering, Cassie Building, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, UK.
| | - Anna Lo Jacomo
- UK Health Security Agency, Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, Windsor House, Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL, UK; Bristol University, Department of Engineering Mathematics, Bristol BS8 1TW, UK
| | - Elena Armenise
- Environment Agency, Research, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol BS1 5AH, UK
| | - Mathew R Brown
- UK Health Security Agency, Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, Windsor House, Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL, UK; Newcastle University, School of Engineering, Cassie Building, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Joshua T Bunce
- UK Health Security Agency, Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, Windsor House, Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL, UK; Newcastle University, School of Engineering, Cassie Building, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, UK; Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Seacole Building, 2 Marsham Street, London SW1P 4DF, UK
| | - Graeme J Cameron
- Scottish Environment Protection Agency, Strathallan House, Stirling FK9 4TZ, UK
| | - Zhou Fang
- Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, James Clerk Maxwell Building, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
| | - Kata Farkas
- Bangor University, School of Natural Sciences, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
| | - Deidre F Gilpin
- Queen's University Belfast, School of Pharmacy, Lisburn Road, Belfast BT9 7BL, UK
| | - David W Graham
- Newcastle University, School of Engineering, Cassie Building, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Jasmine M S Grimsley
- UK Health Security Agency, Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, Windsor House, Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL, UK
| | - Alwyn Hart
- Environment Agency, Research, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol BS1 5AH, UK
| | - Till Hoffmann
- UK Health Security Agency, Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, Windsor House, Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL, UK; Imperial College London, Department of Mathematics, London SW7 2AZ, UK
| | - Katherine J Jackson
- Environment Agency, Research, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol BS1 5AH, UK
| | - David L Jones
- Bangor University, School of Natural Sciences, Deiniol Road, Bangor LL57 2UW, UK; The University of Western Australia, UWA School of Agriculture and Environment, Perth, WA 6009, Australia
| | - Chris J Lilley
- UK Health Security Agency, Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, Windsor House, Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL, UK
| | - John W McGrath
- Queen's University Belfast, School of Biological Sciences, Chlorine Gardens, Belfast BT9 5DL, UK
| | - Jennifer M McKinley
- Queen's University Belfast, School of Natural and Built Environment, Stranmills Road, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK
| | - Cormac McSparron
- Queen's University Belfast, School of Natural and Built Environment, Stranmills Road, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK
| | - Behnam F Nejad
- Queen's University Belfast, School of Natural and Built Environment, Stranmills Road, Belfast BT9 5AG, UK
| | - Mario Morvan
- UK Health Security Agency, Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, Windsor House, Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL, UK; University College London, Department of Physics and Astronomy, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Marcos Quintela-Baluja
- Newcastle University, School of Engineering, Cassie Building, Newcastle-upon-Tyne NE1 7RU, UK
| | - Adrian M I Roberts
- Biomathematics and Statistics Scotland, James Clerk Maxwell Building, Peter Guthrie Tait Road, Edinburgh EH9 3FD, UK
| | - Andrew C Singer
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Benson Lane, Wallingford OX10 8BB, UK
| | - Célia Souque
- UK Health Security Agency, Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, Windsor House, Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL, UK; University of Oxford, Department of Zoology, Mansfield Road, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
| | - Vanessa L Speight
- University of Sheffield, Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, Mappin Street, Sheffield S1 3JD, UK
| | - Chris Sweetapple
- UK Health Security Agency, Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, Windsor House, Victoria Street, London SW1H 0TL, UK; University of Exeter, Centre for Water Systems, College of Engineering, Mathematics and Physical Sciences, Exeter EX4 4QF, UK
| | - David Walker
- Centre for Environment, Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Barrack Road, Weymouth DT4 8UB, UK
| | - Glenn Watts
- Environment Agency, Research, Horizon House, Deanery Road, Bristol BS1 5AH, UK
| | - Andrew Weightman
- Cardiff University, Cardiff School of Biosciences, The Sir Martin Evans Building, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
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Zhu Y, Oishi W, Maruo C, Bandara S, Lin M, Saito M, Kitajima M, Sano D. COVID-19 case prediction via wastewater surveillance in a low-prevalence urban community: a modeling approach. JOURNAL OF WATER AND HEALTH 2022; 20:459-470. [PMID: 36366998 DOI: 10.2166/wh.2022.183] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
Estimating and predicting the epidemic size from wastewater surveillance results remains challenging for the practical implementation of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). In this study, by employing a highly sensitive detection method, we documented the time series of SARS-CoV-2 RNA occurrence in the wastewater influent from an urban community with a 360,000 population in Japan, from August 2020 to February 2021. The detection frequency of the viral RNA increased during the outbreak events of COVID-19 and the highest viral RNA concentration was recorded at the beginning of January 2021, amid the most serious outbreak event during the study period. We found that: (1) direct back-calculation still suffers from great uncertainty dominated by inconsistent detection and the varying gap between the observed wastewater viral load and the estimated patient viral load, and (2) the detection frequency correlated well with reported cases and the prediction of the latter can be carried out via data-driven modeling methods. Our results indicate that wastewater virus occurrence can contribute to epidemic surveillance in ways more than back-calculation, which may spawn future wastewater surveillance implementations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yifan Zhu
- Department of Frontier Sciences for Advanced Environment, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8597, Japan E-mail: ; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Wakana Oishi
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8597, Japan; These authors contributed equally to this work
| | - Chikako Maruo
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8597, Japan
| | - Sewwandi Bandara
- Department of Frontier Sciences for Advanced Environment, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8597, Japan E-mail:
| | - Mu Lin
- Department of Frontier Sciences for Advanced Environment, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8597, Japan E-mail:
| | - Mayuko Saito
- Department of Virology, Graduate School of Medicine, Tohoku University, 2-1 Seiryo-machi, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8575, Japan
| | - Masaaki Kitajima
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Daisuke Sano
- Department of Frontier Sciences for Advanced Environment, Graduate School of Environmental Studies, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8597, Japan E-mail: ; Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, Tohoku University, Aoba 6-6-06, Aramaki, Aoba-ku, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8597, Japan; Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, 457-4 Kamigamo Motoyama, Kita Ward, Kyoto 603-8047, Japan
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77
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Pourakbar M, Abdolahnejad A, Raeghi S, Ghayourdoost F, Yousefi R, Behnami A. Comprehensive investigation of SARS-CoV-2 fate in wastewater and finding the virus transfer and destruction route through conventional activated sludge and sequencing batch reactor. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 806:151391. [PMID: 34740662 PMCID: PMC8563086 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA transmission route was thoroughly investigated in the hospital wastewater, sewage collection network, and wastewater treatment plants. Samples were taken on four occasions from December 2020 to April 2021. The performance of two different wastewater treatment processes of sequencing batch reactor (SBR) and conventional activated sludge (CAS) was studied for virus destruction. For this purpose, liquid phase, solid phase and bioaerosol samples were taken from different units of the investigated wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The results revealed that all untreated hospital wastewater samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. The virus detection frequency increased when the number of hospitalized cases increased. Detection of viral RNA in the wastewater collection system exhibited higher load of virus in the generated wastewater in areas with poor socioeconomic conditions. Virus detection in the emitted bioaerosols in WWTPs showed that bioaerosols released from CAS with surface aeration contains SARS-CoV-2 RNA posing a potential threat to the working staff of the WWTPs. However, no viral RNA was detected in the bioaerosols of the SBR with diffused aeration system. Investigation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in WWTPs showed high affinity of the virus to be accumulated in biosolids rather than transporting via liquid phase. Following the fate of virus in sludge revealed that it is completely destructed in anaerobic sludge treatment process. Therefore, based on the results of the present study, it can be concluded that receiving water resources could not be contaminated with virus, if the wastewater treatment processes work properly.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mojtaba Pourakbar
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran
| | - Ali Abdolahnejad
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran
| | - Saber Raeghi
- Department of Laboratory Sciences, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran
| | - Farhad Ghayourdoost
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Zanjan University of Medical Sciences, Zanjan, Iran
| | - Roghayeh Yousefi
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran
| | - Ali Behnami
- Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Maragheh University of Medical Sciences, Maragheh, Iran.
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78
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Shah S, Gwee SXW, Ng JQX, Lau N, Koh J, Pang J. Wastewater surveillance to infer COVID-19 transmission: A systematic review. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 804:150060. [PMID: 34798721 PMCID: PMC8423771 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.150060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 101] [Impact Index Per Article: 50.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2021] [Accepted: 08/27/2021] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Successful detection of SARS-COV-2 in wastewater suggests the potential utility of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for COVID-19 community surveillance. This systematic review aims to assess the performance of wastewater surveillance as early warning system of COVID-19 community transmission. A systematic search was conducted in PubMed, Medline, Embase and the WBE Consortium Registry according to PRISMA guidelines for relevant articles published until 31st July 2021. Relevant data were extracted and summarized. Quality of each paper was assessed using an assessment tool adapted from Bilotta et al.'s tool for environmental science. Of 763 studies identified, 92 studies distributed across 34 countries were shortlisted for qualitative synthesis. A total of 26,197 samples were collected between January 2020 and May 2021 from various locations serving population ranging from 321 to 11,400,000 inhabitants. Overall sample positivity was moderate at 29.2% in all examined settings with the spike (S) gene having maximum rate of positive detections and nucleocapsid (N) gene being the most targeted. Wastewater signals preceded confirmed cases by up to 63 days, with 13 studies reporting sample positivity before the first cases were detected in the community. At least 50 studies reported an association of viral load with community cases. While wastewater surveillance cannot replace large-scale diagnostic testing, it can complement clinical surveillance by providing early signs of potential transmission for more active public health responses. However, more studies using standardized and validated methods are required along with risk analysis and modelling to understand the dynamics of viral outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shimoni Shah
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore 117549, Singapore; Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117549, Singapore.
| | - Sylvia Xiao Wei Gwee
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore 117549, Singapore; Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117549, Singapore.
| | - Jamie Qiao Xin Ng
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore 117549, Singapore; Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117549, Singapore.
| | - Nicholas Lau
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore 117549, Singapore; Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117549, Singapore.
| | - Jiayun Koh
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore 117549, Singapore; Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117549, Singapore.
| | - Junxiong Pang
- Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, National University of Singapore and National University Health System, Singapore 117549, Singapore; Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Research, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117549, Singapore.
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79
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Hoang SA, Bolan N, Madhubashani AMP, Vithanage M, Perera V, Wijesekara H, Wang H, Srivastava P, Kirkham MB, Mickan BS, Rinklebe J, Siddique KHM. Treatment processes to eliminate potential environmental hazards and restore agronomic value of sewage sludge: A review. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2022; 293:118564. [PMID: 34838711 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2021.118564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Revised: 11/19/2021] [Accepted: 11/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Land application of sewage sludge is increasingly used as an alternative to landfilling and incineration owing to a considerable content of carbon and essential plant nutrients in sewage sludge. However, the presence of chemical and biological contaminants in sewage sludge poses potential dangers; therefore, sewage sludge must be suitably treated before being applied to soils. The most common methods include anaerobic digestion, aerobic composting, lime stabilization, incineration, and pyrolysis. These methods aim at stabilizing sewage sludge, to eliminate its potential environmental pollution and restore its agronomic value. To achieve best results on land, a comprehensive understanding of the transformation of organic matter, nutrients, and contaminants during these sewage-sludge treatments is essential; however, this information is still lacking. This review aims to fill this knowledge gap by presenting various approaches to treat sewage sludge, transformation processes of some major nutrients and pollutants during treatment, and potential impacts on soils. Despite these treatments, overtime there are still some potential risks of land application of treated sewage sludge. Potentially toxic substances remain the main concern regarding the reuse of treated sewage sludge on land. Therefore, further treatment may be applied, and long-term field studies are warranted, to prevent possible adverse effects of treated sewage sludge on the ecosystem and human health and enable its land application.
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Affiliation(s)
- Son A Hoang
- Global Innovative Centre for Advanced Nanomaterials, College of Engineering, Science and Environment, University of Newcastle, Callaghan, NSW, 2308, Australia; Division of Urban Infrastructural Engineering, Mientrung University of Civil Engineering, Phu Yen, 56000, Viet Nam
| | - Nanthi Bolan
- School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia.
| | - A M P Madhubashani
- Ecosphere Resilience Research Centre, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka; Department of Chemical and Process Engineering, University of Moratuwa, Moratuwa, Sri Lanka
| | - Meththika Vithanage
- Ecosphere Resilience Research Centre, Faculty of Applied Sciences, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
| | - Vishma Perera
- Department of Natural Resources, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka
| | - Hasintha Wijesekara
- Department of Natural Resources, Faculty of Applied Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University, Belihuloya, Sri Lanka
| | - Hailong Wang
- Biochar Engineering Technology Research Center of Guangdong Province, School of Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Foshan University, Foshan, Guangdong, 528000, China
| | - Prashant Srivastava
- CSIRO, The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation Land and Water, PMB 2, Glen Osmond, South Australia, 5064, Australia
| | - M B Kirkham
- Department of Agronomy, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS, USA
| | - Bede S Mickan
- School of Agriculture and Environment, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia; The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia
| | - Jörg Rinklebe
- Laboratory of Soil- and Groundwater-Management, Institute of Soil Engineering, Waste- and Water Science, Faculty of Architecture und Civil Engineering, University of Wuppertal, Germany; Department of Environment, Energy and Geoinformatics, Sejong University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
| | - Kadambot H M Siddique
- The UWA Institute of Agriculture, The University of Western Australia, Perth, WA, 6001, Australia
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80
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Abdeldayem OM, Dabbish AM, Habashy MM, Mostafa MK, Elhefnawy M, Amin L, Al-Sakkari EG, Ragab A, Rene ER. Viral outbreaks detection and surveillance using wastewater-based epidemiology, viral air sampling, and machine learning techniques: A comprehensive review and outlook. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 803:149834. [PMID: 34525746 PMCID: PMC8379898 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149834] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/18/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
A viral outbreak is a global challenge that affects public health and safety. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been spreading globally, affecting millions of people worldwide, and led to significant loss of lives and deterioration of the global economy. The current adverse effects caused by the COVID-19 pandemic demands finding new detection methods for future viral outbreaks. The environment's transmission pathways include and are not limited to air, surface water, and wastewater environments. The wastewater surveillance, known as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), can potentially monitor viral outbreaks and provide a complementary clinical testing method. Another investigated outbreak surveillance technique that has not been yet implemented in a sufficient number of studies is the surveillance of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in the air. Artificial intelligence (AI) and its related machine learning (ML) and deep learning (DL) technologies are currently emerging techniques for detecting viral outbreaks using global data. To date, there are no reports that illustrate the potential of using WBE with AI to detect viral outbreaks. This study investigates the transmission pathways of SARS-CoV-2 in the environment and provides current updates on the surveillance of viral outbreaks using WBE, viral air sampling, and AI. It also proposes a novel framework based on an ensemble of ML and DL algorithms to provide a beneficial supportive tool for decision-makers. The framework exploits available data from reliable sources to discover meaningful insights and knowledge that allows researchers and practitioners to build efficient methods and protocols that accurately monitor and detect viral outbreaks. The proposed framework could provide early detection of viruses, forecast risk maps and vulnerable areas, and estimate the number of infected citizens.
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Affiliation(s)
- Omar M Abdeldayem
- Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611AX Delft, the Netherlands.
| | - Areeg M Dabbish
- Biotechnology Graduate Program, Biology Department, School of Science and Engineering, The American University in Cairo, New Cairo 11835, Egypt
| | - Mahmoud M Habashy
- Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611AX Delft, the Netherlands
| | - Mohamed K Mostafa
- Faculty of Engineering and Technology, Badr University in Cairo (BUC), Cairo 11829, Egypt
| | - Mohamed Elhefnawy
- CanmetENERGY, 1615 Lionel-Boulet Blvd, P.O. Box 4800, Varennes, Québec J3X 1P7, Canada; Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal 2500 Chemin de Polytechnique, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada
| | - Lobna Amin
- Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611AX Delft, the Netherlands; Department of Built Environment, Aalto University, PO Box 15200, FI-00076, Aalto, Finland
| | - Eslam G Al-Sakkari
- Chemical Engineering Department, Cairo University, Cairo University Road, 12613 Giza, Egypt
| | - Ahmed Ragab
- CanmetENERGY, 1615 Lionel-Boulet Blvd, P.O. Box 4800, Varennes, Québec J3X 1P7, Canada; Department of Mathematics and Industrial Engineering, Polytechnique Montréal 2500 Chemin de Polytechnique, Montréal, Québec H3T 1J4, Canada; Faculty of Electronic Engineering, Menoufia University, 32952, Menouf, Egypt
| | - Eldon R Rene
- Department of Water Supply, Sanitation and Environmental Engineering, IHE Delft Institute for Water Education, Westvest 7, 2611AX Delft, the Netherlands
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81
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Jalali Milani S, Nabi Bidhendi G. A Review on the Potential of Common Disinfection Processes for the Removal of Virus from Wastewater. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 16:9. [PMID: 35013682 PMCID: PMC8733756 DOI: 10.1007/s41742-021-00387-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2021] [Revised: 12/04/2021] [Accepted: 12/25/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Due to the prevalence of the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as findings of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater and the possibility of viral transmission through wastewater, disinfection is required. As a consequence, based on prior investigations, this work initially employed the viral concentration detection technique, followed by the RT-qPCR assay, as the foundation for identifying the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater. After that, the ability and efficacy of chlorine, ozone, and UV disinfection to inactivate the SARS-CoV-2 virus from wastewater were examined. Chlorine disinfection is the most extensively used disinfection technology due to its multiple advantages. With a chlorine dioxide disinfectant dose of 40 mg/L, the SARS-CoV virus is inactivated after 30 min of contact time. On the other hand, ozone is a powerful oxidizer and an effective microbicide that is employed as a disinfectant due to its positive characteristics. After 30 min of exposure to 1000 ppmv ozone, corona pseudoviruses are reduced by 99%. Another common method of disinfection is using ultraviolet radiation, which is usually 253.7 nm suitable for ultraviolet disinfection. At a dose of 1048 mJ/cm2, UVC radiation completely inactivates the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Finally, to evaluate disinfection performance and optimize disinfection strategies to prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2, this study attempted to investigate the ability to remove and compare the effectiveness of each disinfectant to inactive the SARS-CoV-2 virus from wastewater, summarize studies, and provide future solutions due to the limited availability of integrated resources in this field and the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sevda Jalali Milani
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
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82
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Anand U, Li X, Sunita K, Lokhandwala S, Gautam P, Suresh S, Sarma H, Vellingiri B, Dey A, Bontempi E, Jiang G. SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens in municipal wastewater, landfill leachate, and solid waste: A review about virus surveillance, infectivity, and inactivation. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2022; 203:111839. [PMID: 34358502 PMCID: PMC8332740 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111839] [Citation(s) in RCA: 54] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/02/2021] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
This review discusses the techniques available for detecting and inactivating of pathogens in municipal wastewater, landfill leachate, and solid waste. In view of the current COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 is being given special attention, with a thorough examination of all possible transmission pathways linked to the selected waste matrices. Despite the lack of works focused on landfill leachate, a systematic review method, based on cluster analysis, allows to analyze the available papers devoted to sewage sludge and wastewater, allowing to focalize the work on technologies able to detect and treat pathogens. In this work, great attention is also devoted to infectivity and transmission mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, the literature analysis shows that sewage sludge and landfill leachate seem to have a remote chance to act as a virus transmission route (pollution-to-human transmission) due to improper collection and treatment of municipal wastewater and solid waste. However due to the incertitude about virus infectivity, these possibilities cannot be excluded and need further investigation. As a conclusion, this paper shows that additional research is required not only on the coronavirus-specific disinfection, but also the regular surveillance or monitoring of viral loads in sewage sludge, wastewater, and landfill leachate. The disinfection strategies need to be optimized in terms of dosage and potential adverse impacts like antimicrobial resistance, among many other factors. Finally, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogenic microorganisms in sewage sludge, wastewater, and landfill leachate can hamper the possibility to ensure safe water and public health in economically marginalized countries and hinder the realization of the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs).
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Affiliation(s)
- Uttpal Anand
- Department of Life Sciences and the National Institute for Biotechnology in the Negev, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva, 84105, Israel
| | - Xuan Li
- School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Australia
| | - Kumari Sunita
- Department of Botany, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University, Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, 273009, India
| | - Snehal Lokhandwala
- Department of Environmental Science & Technology, Shroff S.R. Rotary Institute of Chemical Technology, UPL University of Sustainable Technology, Ankleshwar, Gujarat, 393135, India
| | - Pratibha Gautam
- Department of Environmental Science & Technology, Shroff S.R. Rotary Institute of Chemical Technology, UPL University of Sustainable Technology, Ankleshwar, Gujarat, 393135, India
| | - S Suresh
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology, Bhopal, 462 003, Madhya Pradesh, India
| | - Hemen Sarma
- Department of Botany, Nanda Nath Saikia College, Dhodar Ali, Titabar, 785630, Assam, India
| | - Balachandar Vellingiri
- Human Molecular Cytogenetics and Stem Cell Laboratory, Department of Human Genetics and Molecular Biology, Bharathiar University, Coimbatore, 641-046, India
| | - Abhijit Dey
- Department of Life Sciences, Presidency University, 86/1 College Street, Kolkata, 700073, West Bengal, India
| | - Elza Bontempi
- INSTM and Chemistry for Technologies Laboratory, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, University of Brescia, Via Branze, 38, 25123, Brescia, Italy.
| | - Guangming Jiang
- School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Australia; Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
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83
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Li M, Song G, Liu R, Huang X, Liu H. Inactivation and risk control of pathogenic microorganisms in municipal sludge treatment: A review. FRONTIERS OF ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & ENGINEERING 2022; 16:70. [PMID: 34608423 PMCID: PMC8482957 DOI: 10.1007/s11783-021-1504-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2021] [Revised: 06/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/12/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The rapid global spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has promoted concern over human pathogens and their significant threats to public health security. The monitoring and control of human pathogens in public sanitation and health facilities are of great importance. Excessive sludge is an inevitable byproduct of sewage that contains human and animal feces in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). It is an important sink of different pollutants and pathogens, and the proper treatment and disposal of sludge are important to minimize potential risks to the environment and public health. However, there is a lack of comprehensive analysis of the diversity, exposure risks, assessment methods and inactivation techniques of pathogenic microorganisms in sludge. Based on this consideration, this review summarizes the control performance of pathogenic microorganisms such as enterovirus, Salmonella spp., and Escherichia coli by different sludge treatment technologies, including composting, anaerobic digestion, aerobic digestion, and microwave irradiation, and the mechanisms of pathogenic microorganism inactivation in sludge treatment processes are discussed. Additionally, this study reviews the diversity, detection methods, and exposure risks of pathogenic microorganisms in sludge. This review advances the quantitative assessment of pathogenic microorganism risks involved in sludge reuse and is practically valuable to optimize the treatment and disposal of sludge for pathogenic microorganism control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengtian Li
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085 China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China
| | - Ge Song
- State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085 China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049 China
| | - Ruiping Liu
- Center for Water and Ecology, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China
| | - Xia Huang
- School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China
| | - Huijuan Liu
- Center for Water and Ecology, School of Environment, Tsinghua University, Beijing, 100084 China
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84
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Alhama J, Maestre JP, Martín MÁ, Michán C. Monitoring COVID-19 through SARS-CoV-2 quantification in wastewater: progress, challenges and prospects. Microb Biotechnol 2021; 15:1719-1728. [PMID: 34905659 PMCID: PMC9151337 DOI: 10.1111/1751-7915.13989] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 11/26/2021] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Wastewater‐Based Epidemiology (WBE) is widely used to monitor the progression of the current SARS‐CoV‐2 pandemic at local levels. In this review, we address the different approaches to the steps needed for this surveillance: sampling wastewaters (WWs), concentrating the virus from the samples and quantifying them by qPCR, focusing on the main limitations of the methodologies used. Factors that can influence SARS‐CoV‐2 monitoring in WWs include: (i) physical parameters as temperature that can hamper the detection in warm seasons and tropical regions, (ii) sampling methodologies and timetables, being composite samples and Moore swabs the less variable and more sensitive approaches, (iii) virus concentration methodologies that need to be feasible and practicable in simpler laboratories and (iv) detection methodologies that should tend to use faster and cost‐effective procedures. The efficiency of WW treatments and the use of WWs for SARS‐CoV‐2 variants detection are also addressed. Furthermore, we discuss the need for the development of common standardized protocols, although these must be versatile enough to comprise variations among target communities. WBE screening of risk populations will allow for the prediction of future outbreaks, thus alerting authorities to implement early action measurements.
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Affiliation(s)
- José Alhama
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Edificio Severo Ochoa, Córdoba, 14071, Spain
| | - Juan P Maestre
- Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, 301 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop C1786, Austin, TX, 78712, USA
| | - M Ángeles Martín
- Department of Inorganic Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Area of Chemical Engineering, Universidad de Córdoba, Institute of Fine Chemistry and Nanochemistry (IUNAN), Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Edificio Marie Curie, Córdoba, 14071, Spain
| | - Carmen Michán
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Universidad de Córdoba, Campus de Excelencia Internacional Agroalimentario CeiA3, Edificio Severo Ochoa, Córdoba, 14071, Spain
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85
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Palmer EJ, Maestre JP, Jarma D, Lu A, Willmann E, Kinney KA, Kirisits MJ. Development of a reproducible method for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 799:149405. [PMID: 34365266 PMCID: PMC8328530 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.149405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2021] [Revised: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Monitoring the genetic signal of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) through RNA titers in wastewater has emerged as a promising strategy for tracking community-scale prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Although many studies of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater have been conducted around the world, a uniform procedure for concentrating the virus in wastewater is lacking. The goal of this study was to comprehensively evaluate how different methods for concentrating the suspended solids in wastewater affect the associated SARS-CoV-2 RNA signal and the time required for processing samples for wastewater-based epidemiology efforts. We additionally consider the effects of sampling location in the wastewater treatment train (i.e., following preliminary or primary treatment), pasteurization, and RNA extraction method. Comparison of the liquid phase to suspended solids obtained via centrifugation or vacuum filtration suggests that the RNA signal of SARS-CoV-2 preferentially occurs in the solids. Therefore, we assert that the recovery of SARS-CoV-2 from wastewater should focus on suspended solids. Our data indicate that the measured SARS-CoV-2 signal is higher among samples taken from the primary clarifier effluent, as opposed to those taken after preliminary treatment. Additionally, we provide evidence that sample pasteurization at 60 °C for 90 min reduces the SARS-CoV-2 signal by approximately 50-55%. Finally, the results indicate that a magnetic bead approach to RNA extraction leads to a higher SARS-CoV-2 signal than does a silica membrane approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emma J Palmer
- The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, 301 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop C1786, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America.
| | - Juan P Maestre
- The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, 301 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop C1786, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America.
| | - David Jarma
- The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, 301 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop C1786, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America.
| | - Alisa Lu
- The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, 301 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop C1786, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America.
| | - Elisabeth Willmann
- The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, 301 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop C1786, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America.
| | - Kerry A Kinney
- The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, 301 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop C1786, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America.
| | - Mary Jo Kirisits
- The University of Texas at Austin, Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, 301 E. Dean Keeton St., Stop C1786, Austin, TX 78712, United States of America.
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86
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Kominko H, Gorazda K, Wzorek Z. Formulation and evaluation of organo-mineral fertilizers based on sewage sludge optimized for maize and sunflower crops. WASTE MANAGEMENT (NEW YORK, N.Y.) 2021; 136:57-66. [PMID: 34637979 DOI: 10.1016/j.wasman.2021.09.040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 09/18/2021] [Accepted: 09/30/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
The depletion of natural resources, energy consumption and environmental issues relating to fertilizer production processes are driving a move towards a more sustainable use of resources and the recycling of nutrients. With regard to the fertilizer industry, this gives the opportunity to use the fertilizing potential of alternative raw materials. This paper evaluates the possibility of using dried sewage sludge in the manufacture of organo-mineral fertilizers. Fertilizers based on sewage sludge with an addition of poultry litter ash and mineral fertilizers were developed and characterized in the study. It was possible to produce multicomponent organo-mineral fertilizers with optimized compositions for maize and sunflower crops, characterized by total nutrient content over 20%. Moreover, they contained beneficial secondary nutrients and micronutrients originated from waste materials. The fertilizers were free of pathogens and fulfilled the requirements related to heavy metal content according to Polish legislation. The method of manufacturing organo-mineral fertilizers based on waste materials is a simple waste management solution offering organic matter and nutrient recycling in line with the circular economy and reducing reliance on imported raw materials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Halyna Kominko
- Department of Chemical Technology and Environmental Analytics, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Cracow, Poland.
| | - Katarzyna Gorazda
- Department of Chemical Technology and Environmental Analytics, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Cracow, Poland.
| | - Zbigniew Wzorek
- Department of Chemical Technology and Environmental Analytics, Faculty of Chemical Engineering and Technology, Cracow University of Technology, Warszawska 24, 31-155 Cracow, Poland.
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87
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Yazdian H, Jamshidi S. Performance evaluation of wastewater treatment plants under the sewage variations imposed by COVID-19 spread prevention actions. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH SCIENCE & ENGINEERING 2021; 19:1613-1621. [PMID: 34540236 PMCID: PMC8436196 DOI: 10.1007/s40201-021-00717-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2021] [Accepted: 07/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/04/2023]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its spread prevention actions (SPAs) have affected a large number of human activities globally in 2020-2021. Temporary lockdowns, stay-at-home policies, movement restrictions, and personal health care actions have relatively changed the daily life routine in urban areas which can eventually affect the characteristics of municipal wastewater (MW). This study evaluates the performance of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) during COVID-19 pandemic and related SPAs. This evaluation also considers MW variations in quality and quantity and compares the performance of WWTPs (2020) with earlier data (2015-2019). For this purpose, 23 WWTPs located in Isfahan province, Iran, were chosen as the study area and classified based on their locations, biological treatment unit, and capacities. Results indicate that the inflow of WWTPs increased 20 % on average during SPAs, while the concentrations of COD and BOD in MW decreased 23 and 16 %, respectively. Nevertheless, the performance of WWTPs remained rather constant. It is concluded that increasing the dilute domestic proportion of MW, particularly in smaller communities, as a matter of COVID-19 SPAs could not impose adverse impacts on wastewater treatment operations and pollution removal. Different types of secondary treatment units, such as activated sludge, stabilization pond, and aerated lagoon showed stable performances. However, disinfection was enhanced in WWTPs in order to reduce the probability of viral transmission via wastewater for reuse. This study also recommends that the characteristics of MW, and not treated wastewater, can be used as an indicator for coordinating SPAs in similar epidemics. This notification can be helpful for the management of WWTPs and risk control in urban areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hamed Yazdian
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
| | - Shervin Jamshidi
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Isfahan, Isfahan, Iran
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88
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Kumar M, Kuroda K, Joshi M, Bhattacharya P, Barcelo D. First comparison of conventional activated sludge versus root-zone treatment for SARS-CoV-2 RNA removal from wastewaters: Statistical and temporal significance. CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL (LAUSANNE, SWITZERLAND : 1996) 2021; 425:130635. [PMID: 34149304 PMCID: PMC8200644 DOI: 10.1016/j.cej.2021.130635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/19/2020] [Revised: 04/26/2021] [Accepted: 05/30/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
In the initial pandemic phase, effluents from wastewater treatment facilities were reported mostly free from Severe Acute Respiratory Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA, and thus conventional wastewater treatments were generally considered effective. However, there is a lack of first-hand data on i) comparative efficacy of various treatment processes for SARS-CoV-2 RNA removal; and ii) temporal variations in the removal efficacy of a given treatment process in the backdrop of active COVID-19 cases. This work provides a comparative account of the removal efficacy of conventional activated sludge (CAS) and root zone treatments (RZT) based on weekly wastewater surveillance data, consisting of forty-four samples, during a two-month period. The average genome concentration was higher in the inlets of CAS-based wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in the Sargasan ward (1.25 × 103 copies/ L), than that of RZT-based WWTP (7.07 × 102 copies/ L) in an academic institution campus of Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India. ORF 1ab and S genes appeared to be more sensitive to treatment i.e., significantly reduced (p < 0.05) than N genes (p > 0.05). CAS treatment exhibited better RNA removal efficacy (p = 0.014) than RZT (p = 0.032). Multivariate analyses suggested that the effective genome concentration should be calculated based on the presence/absence of multiple genes. The present study stresses that treated effluents are not always free from SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and the removal efficacy of a given WWTP is prone to exhibit temporal variability owing to variations in active COVID-19 cases in the vicinity and genetic material accumulation over the time. Disinfection seems less effective than the adsorption and coagulation processes for SARS-CoV-2 removal. Results stress the need for further research on mechanistic insight on SARS-CoV-2 removal through various treatment processes taking solid-liquid partitioning into account.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manish Kumar
- Discipline of Earth Science, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382 355, India
- Kiran C Patel Centre for Sustainable Development, Indian Institute of Technology Gandhinagar, Gujarat, India
| | - Keisuke Kuroda
- Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University, Imizu 939 0398, Japan
| | - Madhvi Joshi
- Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre (GBRC), Sector- 11, Gandhinagar, Gujarat 382 011, India
| | - Prosun Bhattacharya
- Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, SE-10044 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Damia Barcelo
- Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Barcelona, and Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA)-CERCA, Girona, Spain
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89
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Sangkham S. A review on detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater in light of the current knowledge of treatment process for removal of viral fragments. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 299:113563. [PMID: 34488114 PMCID: PMC8373619 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113563] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/03/2021] [Revised: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 08/17/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
The entire globe is affected by the novel disease of coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19 or 2019-nCoV), which is formally recognised as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The World Health Organisation (WHO) announced this disease as a global pandemic. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in unprocessed wastewater has become a cause of worry due to these emerging pathogens in the process of wastewater treatment, as reported in the present study. This analysis intends to interpret the fate, environmental factors and route of transmission of SARS-CoV-2, along with its eradication by treating the wastewater for controlling and preventing its further spread. Different recovery estimations of the virus have been depicted by the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater through the viral concentration techniques. Most frequently used viral concentration techniques include polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation, ultrafiltration, electronegative membrane, and ultracentrifugation, after which the detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA are done in wastewater samples through quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). The wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) holds the key responsibility of eliminating pathogens prior to the discharge of wastewater into surface water bodies. The removal of SARS-CoV-2 RNA at the treatment stage is dependent on the operations of wastewater treatment systems during the outbreak of the virus; particularly, in the urban and extensively populated regions. Efficient primary, secondary and tertiary methods of wastewater treatment and disinfection can reduce or inactivate SARS-CoV-2 RNA before being drained out. Nonetheless, further studies regarding COVID-19-related disinfectants, environment conditions and viral concentrations in each treatment procedure, implications on the environment and regular monitoring of transmission need to be done urgently. Hence, monitoring the SARS-CoV-2 RNA in samples of wastewater under the procedure of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) supplement the real-time data pertaining to the investigation of the COVID-19 pandemic in the community, regional and national levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarawut Sangkham
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Phayao, Muang District, Phayao, 56000, Thailand.
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90
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Affiliation(s)
- Susan D Richardson
- Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina 29205, United States
| | - Thomas A Ternes
- Federal Institute of Hydrology, Am Mainzer Tor 1, Koblenz 56068, Germany
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91
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Kumblathan T, Liu Y, Uppal GK, Hrudey SE, Li XF. Wastewater-Based Epidemiology for Community Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2: Progress and Challenges. ACS ENVIRONMENTAL AU 2021; 1:18-31. [PMID: 37579255 PMCID: PMC8340581 DOI: 10.1021/acsenvironau.1c00015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is useful for the surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in communities, complementing clinical diagnostic testing of individuals. In this Review, we summarize recent progress and highlight remaining challenges in monitoring SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater systems for community and environmental surveillance. Very low concentrations of viral particles and RNA present in the complicated wastewater and sewage sample matrix require efficient sample processing and sensitive detection. We discuss advantages and limitations of available methods for wastewater sample processing, including collection, separation, enrichment, RNA extraction, and purification. Efficient extraction of the viral RNA and removal of interfering sample matrices are critical to the subsequent reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) for sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. We emphasize the importance of implementing appropriate controls and method validation, which include the use of surrogate viruses for assessing extraction efficiency and normalization against measurable chemical and biological components in wastewater. Critical analysis of the published studies reveals imperative research needs for the development, validation, and standardization of robust and sensitive methods for quantitative detection of viral RNA and proteins in wastewater for WBE.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Gursharan K. Uppal
- Division of Analytical and
Environmental Toxicology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology,
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2G3
| | - Steve E. Hrudey
- Division of Analytical and
Environmental Toxicology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology,
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2G3
| | - Xing-Fang Li
- Division of Analytical and
Environmental Toxicology, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology,
Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University
of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6G 2G3
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92
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Ahmad J, Ahmad M, Usman ARA, Al-Wabel MI. Prevalence of human pathogenic viruses in wastewater: A potential transmission risk as well as an effective tool for early outbreak detection for COVID-19. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT 2021; 298:113486. [PMID: 34391102 PMCID: PMC8352675 DOI: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2021.113486] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2021] [Revised: 08/01/2021] [Accepted: 08/05/2021] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Millions of human pathogenic viral particles are shed from infected individuals and introduce into wastewater, subsequently causing waterborne diseases worldwide. These viruses can be transmitted from wastewater to human beings via direct contact and/or ingestion/inhalation of aerosols. Even the advanced wastewater treatment technologies are unable to remove pathogenic viruses from wastewater completely, posing a serious health risk. Recently, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been urged globally due to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), which has resulted in >4.1 million deaths until July 2021. A rapid human-to-human transmission, uncertainties in effective vaccines, non-specific medical treatments, and unclear symptoms compelled the world into complete lockdown, social distancing, air-travel suspension, and closure of educational institutions, subsequently damaging the global economy and trade. Although, few medical treatments, rapid detection tools, and vaccines have been developed so far to curb the spread of COVID-19; however, several uncertainties exist in their applicability. Further, the acceptance of vaccines among communities is lower owing to the fear of side effects such as blood-clotting and heart inflammation. SARS-CoV-2, an etiologic agent of COVID-19, has frequently been detected in wastewater, depicting a potential transmission risk to healthy individuals. Contrarily, the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater can be used as an early outbreak detection tool via water-based epidemiology. Therefore, the spread of SARS-CoV-2 through fecal-oral pathway can be reduced and any possible outbreak can be evaded by proper wastewater surveillance. In this review, wastewater recycling complications, potential health risks of COVID-19 emergence, and current epidemiological measures to control COVID-19 spread have been discussed. Moreover, the viability of SARS-CoV-2 in various environments and survival in wastewater has been reviewed. Additionally, the necessary actions (vaccination, face mask, social distancing, and hand sanitization) to limit the transmission of SARS-CoV-2 have been recommended. Therefore, wastewater surveillance can serve as a feasible, efficient, and reliable epidemiological measure to lessen the spread of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jahangir Ahmad
- Soil Sciences Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Munir Ahmad
- Soil Sciences Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia
| | - Adel R A Usman
- Soil Sciences Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia; Department of Soils and Water, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Assiut, 71526, Egypt
| | - Mohammad I Al-Wabel
- Soil Sciences Department, College of Food and Agricultural Sciences, King Saud University, P.O. Box 2460, Riyadh, 11451, Saudi Arabia; Department of Science and Environmental Studies, The Education University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
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93
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Liu Z, Skowron K, Grudlewska-Buda K, Wiktorczyk-Kapischke N. The existence, spread, and strategies for environmental monitoring and control of SARS-CoV-2 in environmental media. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2021; 795:148949. [PMID: 34252782 PMCID: PMC8262394 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.148949] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Revised: 06/26/2021] [Accepted: 07/06/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the most influential infectious disease to emerge in the early 21st century. The outbreak of COVID-19 has caused a great many deaths and has had a negative impact on the world's economic development. The etiological agent of COVID-19 is severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). SARS-CoV-2, which is highly infectious and variable, can be transmitted through different environmental media (gaseous, liquid, and solid). There are many unanswered questions surrounding this virus. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the latest global COVID-19 epidemic situation, SARS-CoV-2 variants, the progress in SARS-CoV-2 vaccine use, and the existence and spread of SARS-CoV-2 in gaseous, liquid, and solid media, with particular emphasis on the prevention and control of further spread of the disease. This review aims to help people worldwide to become more familiar with the transmission characteristics of SARS-CoV-2 in environmental media, so as targeted measures to fight the epidemic, reduce deaths, and restore the economy can be implemented under the pressure of global SARS-CoV-2 vaccine shortages.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhongchuang Liu
- Green Intelligence Environmental School, Yangtze Normal University, 16 Juxian Rd. Lidu, Fuling District of Chongqing, China; Chongqing Multiple-source Technology Engineering Research Center for Ecological Environment Monitoring, Yangtze Normal University, 16 Juxian Rd. Lidu, Fuling District of Chongqing, China.
| | - Krzysztof Skowron
- Department of Microbiology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum of L. Rydygier in Bydgoszcz, 9 M. Skłodowskiej-Curie Street, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Katarzyna Grudlewska-Buda
- Department of Microbiology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum of L. Rydygier in Bydgoszcz, 9 M. Skłodowskiej-Curie Street, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
| | - Natalia Wiktorczyk-Kapischke
- Department of Microbiology, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń, Collegium Medicum of L. Rydygier in Bydgoszcz, 9 M. Skłodowskiej-Curie Street, 85-094 Bydgoszcz, Poland
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94
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Gharoon N, Dewan A, Li L, Haak L, Mazurowski L, Guarin T, Pagilla K. Removal of SARS-CoV-2 viral markers through a water reclamation facility. WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH : A RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION 2021; 93:2819-2827. [PMID: 34528319 PMCID: PMC8661921 DOI: 10.1002/wer.1641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
There have been multiple reports of COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2 RNA presence in influent wastewater of water reclamation facilities (WRFs) across the world. In this study, the removal of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was investigated in a WRF by collecting samples from various stages relayed to hydraulic retention time (HRT) and analyzed for viral RNA (N1 and N2) gene markers and wastewater characteristics. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 28 out of 28 influent wastewater and primary effluent samples. Secondary effluent showed 4 out of 9 positive samples, and all tertiary and final effluent samples were below the detection limit for the viral markers. The reduction was significant (p value < 0.005, one-way analysis of variance [ANOVA] test) in secondary treatment, ranging from 1.4 to 2.0 log10 removal. Adjusted N1 viral marker had a positive correlation with total suspended solids, total Kjeldahl nitrogen, and ammonia concentrations (Spearman's ρ = 0.61, 0.67, and 0.53, respectively, p value < 0.05), while demonstrating a strongly negative correlation with HRT (Spearman's ρ = -0.58, p value < 0.01). PRACTITIONER POINTS: Viral RNA was present in all samples taken from influent and primary effluent of a WRF. SARS-CoV-2 gene marker was detected in secondary effluent in 4 out of 9 samples. Tertiary and final effluent samples tested nondetect for SARS-CoV-2 gene markers. Up to 0.5 and 2.0 log10 virus removal values were achieved by primary and secondary treatment, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Niloufar Gharoon
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Nevada RenoRenoNVUSA
| | - Aimee Dewan
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Nevada RenoRenoNVUSA
| | - Lin Li
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Nevada RenoRenoNVUSA
| | - Laura Haak
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Nevada RenoRenoNVUSA
| | - Lauren Mazurowski
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Nevada RenoRenoNVUSA
| | - Tatiana Guarin
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Nevada RenoRenoNVUSA
| | - Krishna Pagilla
- Department of Civil and Environmental EngineeringUniversity of Nevada RenoRenoNVUSA
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95
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Fontenele RS, Kraberger S, Hadfield J, Driver EM, Bowes D, Holland LA, Faleye TOC, Adhikari S, Kumar R, Inchausti R, Holmes WK, Deitrick S, Brown P, Duty D, Smith T, Bhatnagar A, Yeager RA, Holm RH, von Reitzenstein NH, Wheeler E, Dixon K, Constantine T, Wilson MA, Lim ES, Jiang X, Halden RU, Scotch M, Varsani A. High-throughput sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater provides insights into circulating variants. WATER RESEARCH 2021. [PMID: 34607084 DOI: 10.1101/2021.01.22.21250320%j] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) likely emerged from a zoonotic spill-over event and has led to a global pandemic. The public health response has been predominantly informed by surveillance of symptomatic individuals and contact tracing, with quarantine, and other preventive measures have then been applied to mitigate further spread. Non-traditional methods of surveillance such as genomic epidemiology and wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) have also been leveraged during this pandemic. Genomic epidemiology uses high-throughput sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes to inform local and international transmission events, as well as the diversity of circulating variants. WBE uses wastewater to analyse community spread, as it is known that SARS-CoV-2 is shed through bodily excretions. Since both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals contribute to wastewater inputs, we hypothesized that the resultant pooled sample of population-wide excreta can provide a more comprehensive picture of SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity circulating in a community than clinical testing and sequencing alone. In this study, we analysed 91 wastewater samples from 11 states in the USA, where the majority of samples represent Maricopa County, Arizona (USA). With the objective of assessing the viral diversity at a population scale, we undertook a single-nucleotide variant (SNV) analysis on data from 52 samples with >90% SARS-CoV-2 genome coverage of sequence reads, and compared these SNVs with those detected in genomes sequenced from clinical patients. We identified 7973 SNVs, of which 548 were "novel" SNVs that had not yet been identified in the global clinical-derived data as of 17th June 2020 (the day after our last wastewater sampling date). However, between 17th of June 2020 and 20th November 2020, almost half of the novel SNVs have since been detected in clinical-derived data. Using the combination of SNVs present in each sample, we identified the more probable lineages present in that sample and compared them to lineages observed in North America prior to our sampling dates. The wastewater-derived SARS-CoV-2 sequence data indicates there were more lineages circulating across the sampled communities than represented in the clinical-derived data. Principal coordinate analyses identified patterns in population structure based on genetic variation within the sequenced samples, with clear trends associated with increased diversity likely due to a higher number of infected individuals relative to the sampling dates. We demonstrate that genetic correlation analysis combined with SNVs analysis using wastewater sampling can provide a comprehensive snapshot of the SARS-CoV-2 genetic population structure circulating within a community, which might not be observed if relying solely on clinical cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafaela S Fontenele
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Simona Kraberger
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - James Hadfield
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Erin M Driver
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Devin Bowes
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - LaRinda A Holland
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Temitope O C Faleye
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Sangeet Adhikari
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ USA
| | - Rahul Kumar
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Rosa Inchausti
- Strategic Management and Diversity Office, City of Tempe, 31 E Fifth Street, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Wydale K Holmes
- Strategic Management and Diversity Office, City of Tempe, 31 E Fifth Street, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Stephanie Deitrick
- Enterprise GIS & Data Analytics, Information Technology, 31 E Fifth Street, City of Tempe, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Philip Brown
- Municipal Utilities, City of Tempe, 31 E Fifth Street, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Darrell Duty
- Tempe Fire Medical Rescue, 31 E Fifth Street, City of Tempe, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Ted Smith
- Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, 302 E. Muhammad Ali Blvd., Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Aruni Bhatnagar
- Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, 302 E. Muhammad Ali Blvd., Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Ray A Yeager
- Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, 302 E. Muhammad Ali Blvd., Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Rochelle H Holm
- Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, 302 E. Muhammad Ali Blvd., Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | | | - Elliott Wheeler
- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., 1999 Bryan Street, Dallas, TX 75201, USA
| | - Kevin Dixon
- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., 1999 Bryan Street, Dallas, TX 75201, USA
| | - Tim Constantine
- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., 1999 Bryan Street, Dallas, TX 75201, USA
| | - Melissa A Wilson
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, 401 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Efrem S Lim
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Xiaofang Jiang
- National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
| | - Rolf U Halden
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; OneWaterOneHealth, Nonprofit Project of the Arizona State University Foundation, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Matthew Scotch
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 550 N. 3rd St, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
| | - Arvind Varsani
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, 401 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
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96
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Fontenele RS, Kraberger S, Hadfield J, Driver EM, Bowes D, Holland LA, Faleye TOC, Adhikari S, Kumar R, Inchausti R, Holmes WK, Deitrick S, Brown P, Duty D, Smith T, Bhatnagar A, Yeager RA, Holm RH, von Reitzenstein NH, Wheeler E, Dixon K, Constantine T, Wilson MA, Lim ES, Jiang X, Halden RU, Scotch M, Varsani A. High-throughput sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater provides insights into circulating variants. WATER RESEARCH 2021; 205:117710. [PMID: 34607084 PMCID: PMC8464352 DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117710] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 25.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2021] [Revised: 09/15/2021] [Accepted: 09/22/2021] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) likely emerged from a zoonotic spill-over event and has led to a global pandemic. The public health response has been predominantly informed by surveillance of symptomatic individuals and contact tracing, with quarantine, and other preventive measures have then been applied to mitigate further spread. Non-traditional methods of surveillance such as genomic epidemiology and wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) have also been leveraged during this pandemic. Genomic epidemiology uses high-throughput sequencing of SARS-CoV-2 genomes to inform local and international transmission events, as well as the diversity of circulating variants. WBE uses wastewater to analyse community spread, as it is known that SARS-CoV-2 is shed through bodily excretions. Since both symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals contribute to wastewater inputs, we hypothesized that the resultant pooled sample of population-wide excreta can provide a more comprehensive picture of SARS-CoV-2 genomic diversity circulating in a community than clinical testing and sequencing alone. In this study, we analysed 91 wastewater samples from 11 states in the USA, where the majority of samples represent Maricopa County, Arizona (USA). With the objective of assessing the viral diversity at a population scale, we undertook a single-nucleotide variant (SNV) analysis on data from 52 samples with >90% SARS-CoV-2 genome coverage of sequence reads, and compared these SNVs with those detected in genomes sequenced from clinical patients. We identified 7973 SNVs, of which 548 were "novel" SNVs that had not yet been identified in the global clinical-derived data as of 17th June 2020 (the day after our last wastewater sampling date). However, between 17th of June 2020 and 20th November 2020, almost half of the novel SNVs have since been detected in clinical-derived data. Using the combination of SNVs present in each sample, we identified the more probable lineages present in that sample and compared them to lineages observed in North America prior to our sampling dates. The wastewater-derived SARS-CoV-2 sequence data indicates there were more lineages circulating across the sampled communities than represented in the clinical-derived data. Principal coordinate analyses identified patterns in population structure based on genetic variation within the sequenced samples, with clear trends associated with increased diversity likely due to a higher number of infected individuals relative to the sampling dates. We demonstrate that genetic correlation analysis combined with SNVs analysis using wastewater sampling can provide a comprehensive snapshot of the SARS-CoV-2 genetic population structure circulating within a community, which might not be observed if relying solely on clinical cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rafaela S Fontenele
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Simona Kraberger
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - James Hadfield
- Vaccine and Infectious Disease Division, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
| | - Erin M Driver
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Devin Bowes
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - LaRinda A Holland
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Temitope O C Faleye
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Sangeet Adhikari
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Sustainable Engineering and the Built Environment, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ USA
| | - Rahul Kumar
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Rosa Inchausti
- Strategic Management and Diversity Office, City of Tempe, 31 E Fifth Street, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Wydale K Holmes
- Strategic Management and Diversity Office, City of Tempe, 31 E Fifth Street, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Stephanie Deitrick
- Enterprise GIS & Data Analytics, Information Technology, 31 E Fifth Street, City of Tempe, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Philip Brown
- Municipal Utilities, City of Tempe, 31 E Fifth Street, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Darrell Duty
- Tempe Fire Medical Rescue, 31 E Fifth Street, City of Tempe, Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Ted Smith
- Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, 302 E. Muhammad Ali Blvd., Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Aruni Bhatnagar
- Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, 302 E. Muhammad Ali Blvd., Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Ray A Yeager
- Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, 302 E. Muhammad Ali Blvd., Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | - Rochelle H Holm
- Christina Lee Brown Envirome Institute, University of Louisville, 302 E. Muhammad Ali Blvd., Louisville, KY 40202, USA
| | | | - Elliott Wheeler
- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., 1999 Bryan Street, Dallas, TX 75201, USA
| | - Kevin Dixon
- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., 1999 Bryan Street, Dallas, TX 75201, USA
| | - Tim Constantine
- Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., 1999 Bryan Street, Dallas, TX 75201, USA
| | - Melissa A Wilson
- School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, 401 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Efrem S Lim
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA
| | - Xiaofang Jiang
- National Library of Medicine, National Institute of Health, 8600 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20894, USA
| | - Rolf U Halden
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; OneWaterOneHealth, Nonprofit Project of the Arizona State University Foundation, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA
| | - Matthew Scotch
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; College of Health Solutions, Arizona State University, 550 N. 3rd St, Phoenix, AZ 85004, USA
| | - Arvind Varsani
- The Biodesign Center for Fundamental and Applied Microbiomics, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave., Tempe, AZ 85281, USA; School of Life Sciences, Arizona State University, 427 East Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA; Center for Evolution and Medicine, Arizona State University, 401 E. Tyler Mall, Tempe, AZ 85287, USA.
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97
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Impacts of COVID-19 on the Aquatic Environment and Implications on Aquatic Food Production. SUSTAINABILITY 2021. [DOI: 10.3390/su132011281] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), resulted in ecological changes of aquatic ecosystems, affected the aquatic food supply chain, and disrupted the socio-economy of global populations. Due to reduced human activities during the pandemic, the aquatic environment was reported to improve its water quality, wild fishery stocks, and biodiversity. However, the sudden surge of plastics and biomedical wastes during the COVID-19 pandemic masked the positive impacts and increased the risks of aquatic pollution, especially microplastics, pharmaceuticals, and disinfectants. The transmission of SARS-CoV-2 from wastewater treatment plants to natural water bodies could have serious impacts on the environment and human health, especially in developing countries with poor waste treatment facilities. The presence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in human excreta, wastewaters, and sludge and its transmission to aquatic ecosystems could have negative impacts on fisheries and aquaculture industries, which have direct implications on food safety and security. COVID-19 pandemic-related environmental pollution showed a high risk to aquatic food security and human health. This paper reviews the impacts of COVID-19, both positive and negative, and assesses the causes and consequences of anthropogenic activities that can be managed through effective regulation and management of eco-resources for the revival of biodiversity, ecosystem health, and sustainable aquatic food production.
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98
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Girón-Navarro R, Linares-Hernández I, Castillo-Suárez LA. The impact of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) in water: potential risks. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2021; 28:52651-52674. [PMID: 34453253 PMCID: PMC8397333 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-021-16024-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2021] [Accepted: 08/14/2021] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
This review summarizes research data on SARS-CoV-2 in water environments. A literature survey was conducted using the electronic databases Science Direct, Scopus, and Springer. This complete research included and discussed relevant studies that involve the (1) introduction, (2) definition and features of coronavirus, (2.1) structure and classification, (3) effects on public health, (4) transmission, (5) detection methods, (6) impact of COVID-19 on the water sector (drinking water, cycle water, surface water, wastewater), (6.5) wastewater treatment, and (7) future trends. The results show contamination of clean water sources, and community drinking water is vulnerable. Additionally, there is evidence that sputum, feces, and urine contain SARS-CoV-2, which can maintain its viability in sewage and the urban-rural water cycle to move towards seawater or freshwater; thus, the risk associated with contracting COVID-19 from contact with untreated water or inadequately treated wastewater is high. Moreover, viral loads have been detected in surface water, although the risk is lower for countries that efficiently treat their wastewater. Further investigation is immediately required to determine the persistence and mobility of SARS-CoV-2 in polluted water and sewage as well as the possible potential of disease transmission via drinking water. Conventional wastewater treatment systems have been shown to be effective in removing the virus, which plays an important role in pandemic control. Monitoring of this virus in water is extremely important as it can provide information on the prevalence and distribution of the COVID-19 pandemic in different communities as well as possible infection dynamics to prevent future outbreaks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rocío Girón-Navarro
- Instituto Interamericano de Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua (IITCA), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Km 14.5 carretera Toluca-Atlacomulco, C.P, 50200, Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico
| | - Ivonne Linares-Hernández
- Instituto Interamericano de Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua (IITCA), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Km 14.5 carretera Toluca-Atlacomulco, C.P, 50200, Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico.
| | - Luis Antonio Castillo-Suárez
- Instituto Interamericano de Tecnología y Ciencias del Agua (IITCA), Universidad Autónoma del Estado de México, Km 14.5 carretera Toluca-Atlacomulco, C.P, 50200, Toluca, Estado de México, Mexico.
- Consejo Mexiquense de Ciencia y Tecnología - COMECYT, Diagonal Alfredo del Mazo 198 y 103, Guadalupe y Club Jardín, C.P. 50010, Toluca de Lerdo, Estado de México, México.
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99
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Kabdaşlı I, Tünay O. Concentration techniques tailored for the detection of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in domestic wastewater and treatment plant sludge: A review. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 2021; 9:106296. [PMID: 34485054 PMCID: PMC8405238 DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2021.106296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Upon the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic, detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in domestic wastewater have led to an increase in the efforts to define and implement the wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). This application provides valuable information to define local contamination monitoring, emergence of COVID-19 and its variants and many other aspects to cope with and control the pandemic. WBE surveillance, however, requires several consecutive steps such as sampling, pretreatment and concentration of samples, and detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in wastewater. In this review paper, the literature regarding to all these applications reviewed considering their advantages, disadvantages as well as their applicability. A specific emphasis was placed on the last step, detection and quantification since it covers the most critical procedure for concentrating the virus before measurement. Evaluation of the existing data indicating ultrafiltration, polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation and electronegative membrane filtration (ENMF) were the most promising techniques for concentration. The ongoing studies are proposed to be continued within the context of standard methods. Future research needs are delineated and suggestions are made for details.
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Affiliation(s)
- Işık Kabdaşlı
- İstanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazağa Campus, Sarıyer, İstanbul 34469, Republic of Turkey
| | - Olcay Tünay
- İstanbul Technical University, Civil Engineering Faculty, Environmental Engineering Department, Ayazağa Campus, Sarıyer, İstanbul 34469, Republic of Turkey
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100
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Haji Ali B, Shahin MS, Masoumi Sangani MM, Faghihinezhad M, Baghdadi M. Wastewater aerosols produced during flushing toilets, WWTPs, and irrigation with reclaimed municipal wastewater as indirect exposure to SARS-CoV-2. JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL CHEMICAL ENGINEERING 2021; 9:106201. [PMID: 34405082 PMCID: PMC8361049 DOI: 10.1016/j.jece.2021.106201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2021] [Revised: 08/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/10/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
The detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in raw and treated wastewater can open up a fresh perspective to waterborne and aerosolized wastewater as a new transmission route of SARS-CoV-2 RNA during the current pandemic. The aim of this paper is to discuss the potential transmission of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from wastewater aerosols formed during toilet flushing, plumbing failure, wastewater treatment plants, and municipal wastewater reuse for irrigation. Moreover, how these aerosols might increase the risk of exposure to this novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 RNA). This article supplies a review of the literature on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in untreated wastewater, as well as the fate and stability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater. We also reviewed the existing literatures on generation and transmission of aerosolized wastewater through flush a toilet, house's plumbing networks, WWTPs, wastewater reuse for irrigation of agricultural areas. Finally, the article briefly studies the potential risk of infection with exposure to the fecal bioaerosols of SARS-CoV-2 RNA for the people who might be exposed through flushing toilets or faulty building plumbing systems, operators/workers in wastewater treatment plants, and workers of fields irrigated with treated wastewater - based on current knowledge. Although this review highlights the indirect transmission of SARS-CoV-2 RNA through wastewater aerosols, no research has yet clearly demonstrated the role of aerosolized wastewater in disease transmission regarding the continuation of this pandemic. Therefore, there is a need for additional studies on wastewater aerosols in transmission of COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Banafsheh Haji Ali
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | | | | | - Mohsen Faghihinezhad
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
| | - Majid Baghdadi
- School of Environment, College of Engineering, University of Tehran, Tehran, Iran
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