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Starke JC, Bell NS, Martinez CM, Friberg IK, Lawley C, Sriskantharajah V, Hirschberg DL. Measuring SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in neighborhood wastewater. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 926:172021. [PMID: 38552966 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 03/22/2024] [Accepted: 03/25/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024]
Abstract
Longitudinal wastewater sampling during the COVID-19 pandemic was an important aspect of disease surveillance, adding to a more complete understanding of infection dynamics and providing important data for community public health monitoring and intervention planning. This was largely accomplished by testing SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in samples from municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). We evaluated the utility of testing for virus levels upstream from WWTP within the residential neighborhoods that feed into the WWTP. We propose that monitoring virus dynamics across residential neighborhoods could reveal important public health-relevant information about community sub-group heterogeneity in virus concentrations. PRINCIPAL RESULTS: Virus concentration patterns display heterogeneity within neighborhoods and between neighborhoods over time. Sewage SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations as measured by RT-qPCR also corresponded closely to verified COVID-19 infection counts within individual neighborhoods. More importantly, our data suggest the loss of disease-relevant public health information when sampling occurs only at the level of WWTP instead of upstream in neighborhoods. Spikes in SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in neighborhoods are often masked by dilution from other neighborhoods in the WWTP samples. MAJOR CONCLUSIONS: Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) employed at WWTP reliably detects SARS-CoV-2 in a city-sized population but provides less actionable public health information about neighborhoods experiencing greater viral infection and disease. Neighborhood sewershed sampling reveals important population-based information about local virus dynamics and improves opportunities for public health intervention. Longitudinally employed, neighborhood sewershed surveillance may provide a 3-6 day early warning of SARS-CoV-2 infection spikes and, importantly, highly specific information on subpopulations in a community particularly at higher risk at different points in time. Sampling in neighborhoods may thus provide timely and cost-saving information for targeted interventions within communities.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Nicole S Bell
- RAIN Incubator, Tacoma, WA, USA; Squally Creek, LLC, Tacoma, WA, USA
| | - Chloe Mae Martinez
- RAIN Incubator, Tacoma, WA, USA; University of Washington-Tacoma, Tacoma, WA, USA
| | | | | | | | - David L Hirschberg
- RAIN Incubator, Tacoma, WA, USA; School of Engineering and Technology, University of Washington-Tacoma, Tacoma, WA, USA
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Majumdar R, Taye B, Bjornberg C, Giljork M, Lynch D, Farah F, Abdullah I, Osiecki K, Yousaf I, Luckstein A, Turri W, Sampathkumar P, Moyer AM, Kipp BR, Cattaneo R, Sussman CR, Navaratnarajah CK. From pandemic to endemic: Divergence of COVID-19 positive-tests and hospitalization numbers from SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in wastewater of Rochester, Minnesota. Heliyon 2024; 10:e27974. [PMID: 38515669 PMCID: PMC10955309 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e27974] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2023] [Revised: 03/06/2024] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 03/23/2024] Open
Abstract
Traditionally, public health surveillance relied on individual-level data but recently wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for the detection of infectious diseases including COVID-19 became a valuable tool in the public health arsenal. Here, we use WBE to follow the course of the COVID-19 pandemic in Rochester, Minnesota (population 121,395 at the 2020 census), from February 2021 to December 2022. We monitored the impact of SARS-CoV-2 infections on public health by comparing three sets of data: quantitative measurements of viral RNA in wastewater as an unbiased reporter of virus level in the community, positive results of viral RNA or antigen tests from nasal swabs reflecting community reporting, and hospitalization data. From February 2021 to August 2022 viral RNA levels in wastewater were closely correlated with the oscillating course of COVID-19 case and hospitalization numbers. However, from September 2022 cases remained low and hospitalization numbers dropped, whereas viral RNA levels in wastewater continued to oscillate. The low reported cases may reflect virulence reduction combined with abated inclination to report, and the divergence of virus levels in wastewater from reported cases may reflect COVID-19 shifting from pandemic to endemic. WBE, which also detects asymptomatic infections, can provide an early warning of impending cases, and offers crucial insights during pandemic waves and in the transition to the endemic phase.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Biruhalem Taye
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | - Iris Yousaf
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | | | | | - Priya Sampathkumar
- Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Ann M. Moyer
- Division of Laboratory Genetics and Genomics, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Benjamin R. Kipp
- Advanced Diagnostics Laboratory, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
- Division of Laboratory Genetics and Genomics, Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Roberto Cattaneo
- Department of Molecular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Caroline R. Sussman
- Division of Nephrology and Hypertension, Department of Internal Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
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Rezaeitavabe F, Rezaie M, Modayil M, Pham T, Ice G, Riefler G, Coschigano KT. Beyond linear regression: Modeling COVID-19 clinical cases with wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 for the city of Athens and Ohio University campus. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:169028. [PMID: 38061656 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.169028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2023] [Revised: 11/20/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 01/18/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater-based surveillance has emerged as a detection tool for population-wide infectious diseases, including coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Infected individuals shed the virus, which can be detected in wastewater using molecular techniques such as reverse transcription-digital polymerase chain reaction (RT-dPCR). This study examined the association between the number of clinical cases and the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater beyond linear regression and for various normalizations of viral loads. Viral loads were measured in a total of 446 wastewater samples during the period from August 2021 to April 2022. These samples were collected from nine different locations, with 220 samples taken from four specific sites within the city of Athens and 226 samples from five sites within Ohio University. The correlation between COVID-19 cases and wastewater viral concentrations, which was estimated using the Pearson correlation coefficient, was statistically significant and ranged from 0.6 to 0.9. In addition, time-lagged cross correlation was applied to identify the lag time between clinical and wastewater data, estimated 4 to 7 days. While we also explored the effect on the correlation coefficients of various normalizations of viral loads accounting for procedural loss or amount of fecal material and of estimated lag times, these alternative specifications did not change our substantive conclusions. Additionally, several linear and non-linear regression models were applied to predict the COVID-19 cases given wastewater data as input. The non-linear approach was found to yield the highest R-squared and Pearson correlation and lowest Mean Absolute Error values between the predicted and actual number of COVID-19 cases for both aggregated OHIO Campus and city data. Our results provide support for previous studies on correlation and time lag and new evidence that non-linear models, approximated with artificial neural networks, should be implemented for WBS of contagious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fatemeh Rezaeitavabe
- Ohio University, Russ College of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Athens, OH 45701, USA
| | - Mehdi Rezaie
- Kansas State University, Department of Physics, Manhattan, KS 66506, USA
| | - Maria Modayil
- Ohio University, Division of Diversity and Inclusion, Athens, OH 45701, USA; Ohio University, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Studies, Athens, OH 45701, USA
| | - Tuyen Pham
- Ohio University, Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service, Athens, OH 45701, USA
| | - Gillian Ice
- Ohio University, College of Health Sciences and Professions, Department of Interdisciplinary Health Studies, Athens, OH 45701, USA; Ohio University, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Department of Social Medicine, Athens, OH 45701, USA
| | - Guy Riefler
- Ohio University, Russ College of Engineering, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Athens, OH 45701, USA
| | - Karen T Coschigano
- Ohio University, Heritage College of Osteopathic Medicine, Department of Biomedical Sciences, Athens, OH 45701, USA.
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Kumar M, Joshi M, Jiang G, Yamada R, Honda R, Srivastava V, Mahlknecht J, Barcelo D, Chidambram S, Khursheed A, Graham DW, Goswami R, Kuroda K, Tiwari A, Joshi C. Response of wastewater-based epidemiology predictor for the second wave of COVID-19 in Ahmedabad, India: A long-term data Perspective. ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION (BARKING, ESSEX : 1987) 2023; 337:122471. [PMID: 37652227 DOI: 10.1016/j.envpol.2023.122471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2023] [Revised: 07/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/26/2023] [Indexed: 09/02/2023]
Abstract
In this work, we present an eight-month longitudinal study of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) in Ahmedabad, India, where wastewater surveillance was introduced in September 2020 after the successful containment of the first wave of COVID-19 to predict the resurge of the infection during the second wave of the pandemic. The study aims to elucidate the weekly resolution of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA data for eight months in wastewater samples to predict the COVID-19 situation and identify hotspots in Ahmedabad. A total of 287 samples were analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 RNA using RT-PCR, and Spearman's rank correlation was applied to depict the early warning potential of WBE. During September 2020 to April 2021, the increasing number of positive wastewater influent samples correlated with the growing number of confirmed clinical cases. It also showed clear evidence of early detection of the second wave of COVID-19 in Ahmedabad (March 2021). 258 out of a total 287 samples were detected positive with at least two out of three SARS-CoV-2 genes (N, ORF- 1 ab, and S). Monthly variation represented a significant decline in all three gene copies in October compared to September 2020, followed by an abrupt increase in November 2020. A similar increment in the gene copies was observed in March and April 2021, which would be an indicator of the second wave of COVID-19. A lead time of 1-2 weeks was observed in the change of gene concentrations compared with clinically confirmed cases. Measured wastewater ORF- 1 ab gene copies ranged from 6.1 x 102 (October 2020) to 1.4 x 104 (November 2020) copies/mL, and wastewater gene levels typically lead to confirmed cases by one to two weeks. The study highlights the value of WBE as a monitoring tool to predict waves within a pandemic, identify local disease hotspots within a city, and guide rapid management interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Manish Kumar
- Sustainability Cluster, School of Advanced Engineering, UPES, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, 248007, India; Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterey, Monterrey, 64849, Nuevo Leon, Mexico.
| | - Madhvi Joshi
- Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 248007, India
| | - Guangming Jiang
- School of Civil, Mining, Environmental and Architectural Engineering, University of Wollongong, Australia
| | - Rintaro Yamada
- Faculty of Geosciences and Civil Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan; Yachiyo Engineering Co., Ltd. Tokyo, 111-8648, Japan
| | - Ryo Honda
- Faculty of Geosciences and Civil Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, 920-1192, Japan
| | - Vaibhav Srivastava
- Department of Botany, Faculty of Science, University of Allahabad, Prayagraj, 211002, India
| | - Jürgen Mahlknecht
- Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterey, Monterrey, 64849, Nuevo Leon, Mexico
| | - Damia Barcelo
- Sustainability Cluster, School of Advanced Engineering, UPES, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, 248007, India; Department of Environmental Chemistry, Institute of Environmental Assessment and Water Research (IDAEA-CSIC), Jordi Girona, 18-26, 08034, Barcelona, Spain; Catalan Institute for Water Research (ICRA-CERCA), Parc Científic i Tecnol'ogic de la Universitat de Girona, c/Emili Grahit, 101, Edifici H2O, 17003, Girona, Spain
| | | | - Anwar Khursheed
- Department of Civil Engineering, College of Engineering, King Saud University, Riyadh, 11421, Saudi Arabia
| | - David W Graham
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle, UK
| | - Ritusmita Goswami
- Centre for Ecology, Environment and Sustainable Development, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Guwahati, India
| | - Keisuke Kuroda
- Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University, 5180 Kurokawa, Imizu, 939-0398, Japan
| | - Ananda Tiwari
- Expert Microbiology Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, 70701 Kuopio, Finland
| | - Chaitanya Joshi
- Gujarat Biotechnology Research Centre, Gandhinagar, Gujarat, 248007, India
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