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Endo N, Hisahara A, Kameda Y, Mochizuki K, Kitajima M, Yasojima M, Daigo F, Takemori H, Nakamura M, Matsuda R, Iwamoto R, Nojima Y, Ihara M, Tanaka H. Enabling quantitative comparison of wastewater surveillance data across methods through data standardization without method standardization. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 953:176073. [PMID: 39250965 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.176073] [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: 05/17/2024] [Revised: 08/30/2024] [Accepted: 09/04/2024] [Indexed: 09/11/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 and other pathogens has expanded globally. Rapid development and availability of various assays has facilitated swift adoption of wastewater surveillance in localities with diverse requirements. However, it presents challenges in comparing data due to methodological variations. Using surrogates for recovery control to address quantification biases has limitations as the recovery of surrogates and target pathogens often diverges significantly. Using non-spiked field-obtained wastewater samples as reference samples in an inter-lab study, this article proposes a straightforward, inexpensive, and most representative way of measuring relative quantification biases that occurs in analyzing field wastewater samples. Five labs participated in the study, testing five types of assays, resulting in a total of seven methods of lab-assay combinations. Each method quantified the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) RNAs in two types of reference samples. The results showed significant variations in quantification among methods, but the relative quantification biases were consistent across reference samples. This suggests that relative quantification biases measured with the reference samples are contingent on methods rather than wastewater samples, and that the once-determined method-specific factors can be used to correct for quantification biases in routine wastewater surveillance results. Subsequent data standardization was performed on year-long observational data from seven cities, serving as a preliminary validation of the proposed approach. This process demonstrated the potential for quantitative data comparison through the bias correction factors obtained in this inter-lab study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noriko Endo
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0811, Japan.
| | - Aika Hisahara
- Water and Sewage Management Department, Water and Disaster Management Bureau, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism, Japan
| | - Yukiko Kameda
- NJS Co., Ltd., 1-1-1, Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | - Masaaki Kitajima
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan; Research Center for Water Environment Technology, School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 2-11-16 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0032, Japan
| | - Makoto Yasojima
- Shimadzu Techno-Research, Inc., 1 Nishinokyo Shimoai-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8436, Japan
| | - Fumi Daigo
- Shimadzu Techno-Research, Inc., 1 Nishinokyo Shimoai-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8436, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Takemori
- Shimadzu Techno-Research, Inc., 1 Nishinokyo Shimoai-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto 604-8436, Japan
| | - Masafumi Nakamura
- Hiyoshi Corporation, 908 Kitanosho, Omihachiman, Shiga 523-8555, Japan
| | - Ryo Matsuda
- Hiyoshi Corporation, 908 Kitanosho, Omihachiman, Shiga 523-8555, Japan
| | - Ryo Iwamoto
- AdvanSentinel Inc., 3-1-8, Doshomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan; Shionogi & Co., Ltd., 3-1-8, Doshomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Yasuhiro Nojima
- Kitasato Research Center for Environmental Science, 1-15-1, Kitazato, Minami-ku, Sagamihara-shi, Kanagawa 252-0329, Japan
| | - Masaru Ihara
- Faculty of Agriculture and Marine Science, Kochi University, 200 Monobe-Otsu, Nankoku, Kochi 783-8502, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Tanaka
- Water and Civil Engineering Division, Shinshu University, 4-17-1, Wakasato, Nagano 380-8553, Japan
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Manoha C, Dequiedt AL, Thery L, Marotel M, Pez F, Vouillon B, Gueneau E, de Rougemont A. Multisite community-scale monitoring of respiratory and enteric viruses in the effluent of a nursing home and in the inlet of the local wastewater treatment plant. Appl Environ Microbiol 2024:e0115824. [PMID: 39387558 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01158-24] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/12/2024] [Accepted: 09/13/2024] [Indexed: 10/15/2024] Open
Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate whether community-level monitoring of respiratory and enteric viruses in wastewater can provide a comprehensive picture of local virus circulation. Wastewater samples were collected weekly at the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) inlet and at the outlet of a nearby nursing home (NH) in Burgundy, France, during the winter period of 2022/2023. We searched for the pepper mild mottle virus as an indicator of fecal content as well as for the main respiratory viruses [severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus] and enteric viruses (rotavirus, sapovirus, norovirus, astrovirus, and adenovirus). Samples were analyzed using real-time reverse transcription PCR-based methods. SARS-CoV-2 was the most frequently detected respiratory virus, with 66.7% of positive samples from the WWTP and 28.6% from the NH. Peaks of SARS-CoV-2 were consistent with the chronological incidence of infections recorded in the sentinel surveillance and the nearby hospital databases. The number of positive samples was lower in the NH than in WWTP for the three respiratory viruses. Enteric viruses were frequently detected, most often sapovirus and norovirus genogroup II, accounting both for 77.8% of positive samples in the WWTP and 57.1% and 37%, respectively, in the NH. The large circulation of sapovirus was unexpected in particular in the NH. Combined wastewater surveillance using simple optimized methods can be a valuable tool for monitoring viral circulation and may serve as a suitable early warning system for identifying both local outbreaks and the onset of epidemics. These results encourage the application of wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) to SARS-CoV2, norovirus, and sapovirus.IMPORTANCEWBS provides valuable information on the spread of epidemic viruses in the environment using appropriate and sensitive detection methods. By monitoring the circulation of viruses using reverse transcription PCR methods in wastewater from the inlet of a wastewater treatment plant and the outlet of a nearby retirement home (connected to the same collective sewer network), we aimed to demonstrate that implementing combined WBS at key community sites allows effective detection of the occurrence of respiratory (influenza, respiratory syncytial virus, and SARS-CoV-2) and enteric (norovirus, rotavirus, and sapovirus) virus infections within a given population. This analysis on a localized scale provided new information on the viral circulation in the two different sites. Implementing WBS to monitor the circulation or the emergence of infectious diseases is an important means of alerting the authorities and improving public health management. WBS could participate actively to the health of humans, animals, and the environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Manoha
- Laboratory of Virology, University Hospital of Dijon Bourgogne, Dijon, France
| | - Anne-Laure Dequiedt
- Departmental Laboratory of Côte d'Or, Departmental Council of Côte-d'Or, Dijon, France
| | - Lucie Thery
- National Reference Centre for Gastroenteritis Viruses, University Hospital of Dijon Bourgogne, Dijon, France
| | - Marina Marotel
- Departmental Laboratory of Côte d'Or, Departmental Council of Côte-d'Or, Dijon, France
| | | | - Bruno Vouillon
- Departmental Laboratory of Côte d'Or, Departmental Council of Côte-d'Or, Dijon, France
| | - Eric Gueneau
- Departmental Laboratory of Côte d'Or, Departmental Council of Côte-d'Or, Dijon, France
| | - Alexis de Rougemont
- Laboratory of Virology, University Hospital of Dijon Bourgogne, Dijon, France
- National Reference Centre for Gastroenteritis Viruses, University Hospital of Dijon Bourgogne, Dijon, France
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3
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Chen C, Wang Y, Kaur G, Adiga A, Espinoza B, Venkatramanan S, Warren A, Lewis B, Crow J, Singh R, Lorentz A, Toney D, Marathe M. Wastewater-based epidemiology for COVID-19 surveillance and beyond: A survey. Epidemics 2024; 49:100793. [PMID: 39357172 DOI: 10.1016/j.epidem.2024.100793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2024] [Revised: 09/11/2024] [Accepted: 09/11/2024] [Indexed: 10/04/2024] Open
Abstract
The pandemic of COVID-19 has imposed tremendous pressure on public health systems and social economic ecosystems over the past years. To alleviate its social impact, it is important to proactively track the prevalence of COVID-19 within communities. The traditional way to estimate the disease prevalence is to estimate from reported clinical test data or surveys. However, the coverage of clinical tests is often limited and the tests can be labor-intensive, requires reliable and timely results, and consistent diagnostic and reporting criteria. Recent studies revealed that patients who are diagnosed with COVID-19 often undergo fecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 virus into wastewater, which makes wastewater-based epidemiology for COVID-19 surveillance a promising approach to complement traditional clinical testing. In this paper, we survey the existing literature regarding wastewater-based epidemiology for COVID-19 surveillance and summarize the current advances in the area. Specifically, we have covered the key aspects of wastewater sampling, sample testing, and presented a comprehensive and organized summary of wastewater data analytical methods. Finally, we provide the open challenges on current wastewater-based COVID-19 surveillance studies, aiming to encourage new ideas to advance the development of effective wastewater-based surveillance systems for general infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen Chen
- Department of Computer Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904, United States.
| | - Yunfan Wang
- Department of Computer Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904, United States.
| | - Gursharn Kaur
- Biocomplexity Institute and Initiative, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904, United States.
| | - Aniruddha Adiga
- Biocomplexity Institute and Initiative, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904, United States.
| | - Baltazar Espinoza
- Biocomplexity Institute and Initiative, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904, United States.
| | - Srinivasan Venkatramanan
- Biocomplexity Institute and Initiative, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904, United States.
| | - Andrew Warren
- Biocomplexity Institute and Initiative, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904, United States.
| | - Bryan Lewis
- Biocomplexity Institute and Initiative, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904, United States.
| | - Justin Crow
- Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, 23219, United States.
| | - Rekha Singh
- Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, 23219, United States.
| | - Alexandra Lorentz
- Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, Department of General Services, Richmond, 23219, United States.
| | - Denise Toney
- Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, Department of General Services, Richmond, 23219, United States.
| | - Madhav Marathe
- Department of Computer Science, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904, United States; Biocomplexity Institute and Initiative, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, 22904, United States.
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4
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Chen C, Wang Y, Kaur G, Adiga A, Espinoza B, Venkatramanan S, Warren A, Lewis B, Crow J, Singh R, Lorentz A, Toney D, Marathe M. Wastewater-based Epidemiology for COVID-19 Surveillance and Beyond: A Survey. ARXIV 2024:arXiv:2403.15291v2. [PMID: 38562450 PMCID: PMC10984000] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2024]
Abstract
The pandemic of COVID-19 has imposed tremendous pressure on public health systems and social economic ecosystems over the past years. To alleviate its social impact, it is important to proactively track the prevalence of COVID-19 within communities. The traditional way to estimate the disease prevalence is to estimate from reported clinical test data or surveys. However, the coverage of clinical tests is often limited and the tests can be labor-intensive, requires reliable and timely results, and consistent diagnostic and reporting criteria. Recent studies revealed that patients who are diagnosed with COVID-19 often undergo fecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 virus into wastewater, which makes wastewater-based epidemiology for COVID-19 surveillance a promising approach to complement traditional clinical testing. In this paper, we survey the existing literature regarding wastewater-based epidemiology for COVID-19 surveillance and summarize the current advances in the area. Specifically, we have covered the key aspects of wastewater sampling, sample testing, and presented a comprehensive and organized summary of wastewater data analytical methods. Finally, we provide the open challenges on current wastewater-based COVID-19 surveillance studies, aiming to encourage new ideas to advance the development of effective wastewater-based surveillance systems for general infectious diseases.
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5
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Anastopoulou Z, Kotsiri Z, Chorti-Tripsa E, Fokas R, Vantarakis A. Urban Wastewater-Based Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 Virus: A Two-Year Study Conducted in City of Patras, Greece. FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL VIROLOGY 2024; 16:398-408. [PMID: 38829460 DOI: 10.1007/s12560-024-09601-7] [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: 01/14/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/05/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology, during the COVID-19 pandemic years, has been applied as a complementary approach, worldwide, for tracking SARS-CoV-2 virus into the community and used as an early warning of the prevalence of COVID-19 infection. The present study presents the results of the 2-year surveillance project, in the city of Patras, Greece. The purpose of the study was to monitor SARS-CoV-2 and implement WBE as an early warning method of monitoring Public Health impact. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 was determined and quantified in 310 samples using RT-qPCR assays. For the years 2022 and 2023, 93.5% and 78.7% of samples were found positive, respectively. Comparison of detection methods have been conducted to select the method with the highest recovery of the viral load. A seasonal variation of the virus was recorded, showing a recession in summer months confirming the country's epidemiological data as indicated by positive correlation of wastewater viral load with registered cases of COVID-19 infections during these years (p < 0.05) and moreover sealed with a significant negative correlation observed with Daily Average (p < 0.01) and Daily Maximum Temperature (p < 0.01). More research was carried out to elucidate a possible association of physicochemical characteristics of wastewater with viral load showing positive correlation with Chlorides (p < 0.01) advocating possible increased use of chlorine-based disinfectants and Electrical Conductivity (p < 0.01) indicates that wastewater during periods of increased infections is more heavily loaded with ions from chemical and biological pollutants. No correlation found with rainfall and physicochemical indicators, such as COD, BOD5, Total Phosphorus, Total Nitrogen, and Total Suspended Solids. According to the findings, WBE represents a useful tool in the management of epidemics based on an environmental approach and it can also shed light on the interacting parameters that capture Public Health since any infections that may lead to epidemics lead to a parallel change in the use of pharmaceuticals, antimicrobials, disinfectants, and microbial load in urban wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zoi Anastopoulou
- Department of Medicine, Environmental Microbiology Unit, Department of Public Health, University of Patras, Patras, Greece.
| | - Zoi Kotsiri
- Department of Medicine, Environmental Microbiology Unit, Department of Public Health, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | - Eleftheria Chorti-Tripsa
- Department of Medicine, Laboratory of Hygiene and Environmental Protection, University of Thrace, Alexandroupoli, Greece
| | - Rafail Fokas
- Department of Medicine, Environmental Microbiology Unit, Department of Public Health, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
| | - Apostolos Vantarakis
- Department of Medicine, Environmental Microbiology Unit, Department of Public Health, University of Patras, Patras, Greece
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6
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Bayati M, Hsieh HY, Hsu SY, Qasim S, Li C, Belenchia A, Klutts J, Zemmer SA, Sibley K, Reynolds M, Semkiw E, Johnson HY, Lyddon T, Wieberg CG, Wenzel J, Johnson MC, Lin CH. The different adsorption-degradation behaviors of SARS-CoV-2 by bioactive chemicals in wastewater: The suppression kinetics and their implications for wastewater-based epidemiology. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 938:173609. [PMID: 38815826 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.173609] [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: 12/04/2023] [Revised: 05/26/2024] [Accepted: 05/27/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) is widely used to monitor the progression of SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. While there is a clear correlation between the number of COVID patients in a sewershed and the viral load in the wastewater, there is notable variability across different treatment plants. In particular, some facilities consistently exhibit higher viral content per diagnosed patient, implying a potential underestimation of the number of COVID patients, while others show a low viral load per diagnosed case, indicating potential attenuation of genetic material from the sewershed. In this study, we investigated the impact of nonylphenol ethoxylate (NPHE), linear alkylbenzene sulfonic acid (LABS), bisoctyl dimethyl ammonium chloride (BDAC), and didecyldimethylammonium chloride (DDAC), the surfactants that have been commonly used as detergents, emulsifiers, wetting agents on the stability of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. The results showed multiple and dynamic mechanisms, including degradation and desorption, can occur simultaneously during the interaction between SARS-CoV-2 and different chemicals depending on the physicochemical properties of each chemical. Through the elucidation of the dynamic interactions, the findings from this study could help the state health organizations and scientific community to optimize the SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based epidemiology strategies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mohamed Bayati
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA; Environmental Engineering Department, Tikrit University, Tikrit, Iraq
| | - Hsin-Yeh Hsieh
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - Shu-Yu Hsu
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA; Center for Agroforestry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - Sally Qasim
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - Chenhui Li
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - Anthony Belenchia
- Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology, Division of Community and Public Health, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, MO, USA
| | - Jessica Klutts
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, School of Medicine and the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - Sally A Zemmer
- Water Protection Program, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Jefferson City, MO, USA
| | - Kristen Sibley
- Water Protection Program, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Jefferson City, MO, USA
| | - Melissa Reynolds
- Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology, Division of Community and Public Health, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, MO, USA
| | - Elizabeth Semkiw
- Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology, Division of Community and Public Health, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, MO, USA
| | - Hwei-Yiing Johnson
- Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology, Division of Community and Public Health, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, MO, USA
| | - Terri Lyddon
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, School of Medicine and the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - Chris G Wieberg
- Water Protection Program, Missouri Department of Natural Resources, Jefferson City, MO, USA
| | - Jeff Wenzel
- Bureau of Environmental Epidemiology, Division of Community and Public Health, Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services, Jefferson City, MO, USA
| | - Marc C Johnson
- Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, University of Missouri, School of Medicine and the Christopher S. Bond Life Sciences Center, Columbia, MO 65201, USA
| | - Chung-Ho Lin
- School of Natural Resources, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA; Center for Agroforestry, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65201, USA.
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7
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Subroyen S, Pillay L, Bux F, Kumari S. Evaluating storage conditions and enhancement strategies on viral biomarker recovery for WBE applications. WATER SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY : A JOURNAL OF THE INTERNATIONAL ASSOCIATION ON WATER POLLUTION RESEARCH 2024; 90:213-224. [PMID: 39007315 DOI: 10.2166/wst.2024.203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2024] [Accepted: 05/31/2024] [Indexed: 07/16/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a valuable disease surveillance tool. However, little is known on how factors such as transportation, storage, and wastewater characteristics influence the accuracy of the quantification methods. Hence, this study investigated the impact of storage temperatures and physicochemical characteristics of wastewater on SARS-CoV-2 and influenza A stability using droplet digital PCR. Additionally, strategies to enhance viral recovery were explored. Municipal influent wastewater stored between ±25 and -80 °C was assessed for a period of 84 days to determine viral degradation. Degradation up to 94.1% of influenza A and SARS-CoV-2 was observed in all samples with the highest at ±25 °C. Viral degradation was correlated to the changes in wastewater physicochemical characteristics. The low degradation observed of SARS-CoV-2 in the spiked pellets were indicative of viral adhesion to wastewater solids, which correlated with changes in pH. Ultrasonication frequencies ranging from 4 to 16 kHz, increased SARS-CoV-2 concentrations in the supernatant between 3.30 and 35.65%, indicating viral RNA attachment to wastewater solids. These results highlight the importance of additional pretreatment methods for maximizing RNA recovery from wastewater samples. Based on these findings, it was deduced that wastewater preservation studies are essential, and pretreatment should be included in the WBE methodology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sueyanka Subroyen
- Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Leanne Pillay
- Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Faizal Bux
- Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4000, South Africa
| | - Sheena Kumari
- Institute for Water and Wastewater Technology, Durban University of Technology, P.O. Box 1334, Durban 4000, South Africa E-mail:
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Goitom E, Ariano S, Gilbride K, Yang MI, Edwards EA, Peng H, Dannah N, Farahbakhsh F, Hataley E, Sarvi H, Sun J, Waseem H, Oswald C. Identification of environmental and methodological factors driving variability of Pepper Mild Mottle Virus (PMMoV) across three wastewater treatment plants in the City of Toronto. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 932:172917. [PMID: 38701931 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.172917] [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: 02/22/2024] [Revised: 04/24/2024] [Accepted: 04/29/2024] [Indexed: 05/06/2024]
Abstract
PMMoV has been widely used to normalize the concentration of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA, influenza, and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) to account for variations in the fecal content of wastewater. PMMoV is also used as an internal RNA recovery control for wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) tests. While potentially useful for the interpretation of WBE data, previous studies have suggested that PMMoV concentration can be affected by various physico-chemical characteristics of wastewater. There is also the possibility that laboratory methods, particularly the variability in centrifugation steps to remove supernatant from pellets can cause PMMoV variability. The goal of this study is to improve our understanding of the main drivers of PMMoV variability by assessing the relationship between PMMoV concentration, the physico-chemical characteristics of wastewater, and the methodological approach for concentrating wastewater samples. We analyzed 24-hour composite wastewater samples collected from the influent stream of three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in the City of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Samples were collected 3 to 5 times per week starting from the beginning of March 2021 to mid-July 2023. The influent flow rate was used to partition the data into wet and dry weather conditions. Physico-chemical characteristics (e.g., total suspended solids (TSS), biological oxygen demand (BOD), alkalinity, electrical conductivity (EC), and ammonia (NH3)) of the raw wastewater were measured, and PMMoV was quantified. Spatial and temporal variability of PMMoV was observed throughout the study period. PMMoV concentration was significantly higher during dry weather conditions. Multiple linear regression analysis demonstrates that the number and type of physico-chemical parameters that drive PMMoV variability are site-specific, but overall BOD and alkalinity were the most important predictors. Differences in PMMoV concentration for a single WWTP between two different laboratory methods, along with a weak correlation between pellet mass and TSS using one method may indicate that differences in sample concentration and subjective subsampling bias could alter viral recovery and introduce variability to the data.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eyerusalem Goitom
- Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada
| | - Sarah Ariano
- Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada; Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, McGill University, Canada
| | - Kim Gilbride
- Department of Chemistry & Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada
| | - Minqing Ivy Yang
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Elizabeth A Edwards
- Department of Chemical Engineering and Applied Chemistry, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Hui Peng
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Canada; School of the Environment, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Nora Dannah
- Department of Chemistry & Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada
| | - Farnaz Farahbakhsh
- Department of Chemistry & Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada
| | - Eden Hataley
- Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada
| | - Hooman Sarvi
- Department of Chemistry & Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada
| | - Jianxian Sun
- Department of Chemistry, University of Toronto, Canada
| | - Hassan Waseem
- Department of Chemistry & Biology, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada
| | - Claire Oswald
- Department of Geography & Environmental Studies, Toronto Metropolitan University, Canada.
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9
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Robbins AA, Gallagher TL, Toledo DM, Hershberger KC, Salmela SM, Barney RE, Szczepiorkowski ZM, Tsongalis GJ, Martin IW, Hubbard JA, Lefferts JA. Analytical validation of a semi-automated methodology for quantitative measurement of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater collected in northern New England. Microbiol Spectr 2024; 12:e0112223. [PMID: 38747589 PMCID: PMC11323974 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.01122-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2023] [Accepted: 04/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024] Open
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) can be used to monitor the community presence of infectious disease pathogens of public health concern such as the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Viral nucleic acid has been detected in the stool of SARS-CoV-2-infected individuals. Asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infections make community monitoring difficult without extensive and continuous population screening. In this study, we validated a procedure that includes manual pre-processing, automated SARS-CoV-2 RNA extraction and detection workflows using both reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and reverse transcriptase droplet digital PCR (RT-ddPCR). Genomic RNA and calibration materials were used to create known concentrations of viral material to determine the linearity, accuracy, and precision of the wastewater extraction and SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection. Both RT-qPCR and RT-ddPCR perform similarly in all the validation experiments, with a limit of detection of 50 copies/mL. A wastewater sample from a care facility with a known outbreak was assessed for viral content in replicate, and we showed consistent results across both assays. Finally, in a 2-week survey of two New Hampshire cities, we assessed the suitability of our methods for daily surveillance. This paper describes the technical validation of a molecular assay that can be used for long-term monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater as a potential tool for community surveillance to assist with public health efforts.IMPORTANCEThis paper describes the technical validation of a molecular assay that can be used for the long-term monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater as a potential tool for community surveillance to assist with public health efforts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashlee A. Robbins
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Torrey L. Gallagher
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Diana M. Toledo
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
- The Broad Institute at MIT and Harvard, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - K. Chase Hershberger
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Sabrina M. Salmela
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Rachael E. Barney
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Zbigniew M. Szczepiorkowski
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Gregory J. Tsongalis
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Isabella W. Martin
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Jacqueline A. Hubbard
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
| | - Joel A. Lefferts
- Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth, Hanover, New Hampshire, USA
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10
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Endo N, Nihei Y, Fujita T, Yasojima M, Daigo F, Takemori H, Nakamura M, Matsuda R, Sovannrlaksmy S, Ihara M. Explaining the impact of mutations on quantification of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. Sci Rep 2024; 14:12482. [PMID: 38816525 PMCID: PMC11139995 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-62659-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2023] [Accepted: 05/20/2024] [Indexed: 06/01/2024] Open
Abstract
Wastewater surveillance is an effective tool for monitoring community spread of COVID-19 and other diseases. Quantitative PCR (qPCR) analysis for wastewater surveillance is more susceptible to mutations in target genome regions than binary PCR analysis for clinical surveillance. The SARS-CoV-2 concentrations in wastewater estimated by N1 and N2 qPCR assays started to diverge around July 2022 in data from different sampling sites, analytical methods, and analytical laboratories in Japan. On the basis of clinical genomic surveillance data and experimental data, we demonstrate that the divergence is due to two mutations in the N1 probe region, which can cause underestimation of viral concentrations. We further show that this inaccuracy can be alleviated if the qPCR data are analyzed with the second derivative method or the Cy0 method instead of the crossing point method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Noriko Endo
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga, 520-0811, Japan.
| | - Yoshiaki Nihei
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga, 520-0811, Japan
- Water Agency, Inc., 3-25 Higashi-Goken-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, 162-0813, Japan
| | - Tomonori Fujita
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga, 520-0811, Japan
| | - Makoto Yasojima
- Shimadzu Techno-Research, Inc., 1 Nishinokyo Shimoai-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, 604-8436, Japan
| | - Fumi Daigo
- Shimadzu Techno-Research, Inc., 1 Nishinokyo Shimoai-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, 604-8436, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Takemori
- Shimadzu Techno-Research, Inc., 1 Nishinokyo Shimoai-cho, Nakagyo-ku, Kyoto, 604-8436, Japan
| | - Masafumi Nakamura
- Hiyoshi Corporation, 908 Kitanosho, Omihachiman, Shiga, 523-0806, Japan
| | - Ryo Matsuda
- Hiyoshi Corporation, 908 Kitanosho, Omihachiman, Shiga, 523-0806, Japan
| | - Sorn Sovannrlaksmy
- Faculty of Agriculture and Marine Science, Kochi University, 200 Monobe-Otsu, Nankoku City, Kochi, 783-8502, Japan
| | - Masaru Ihara
- Faculty of Agriculture and Marine Science, Kochi University, 200 Monobe-Otsu, Nankoku City, Kochi, 783-8502, Japan
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11
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Rashid SA, Rajendiran S, Nazakat R, Mohammad Sham N, Khairul Hasni NA, Anasir MI, Kamel KA, Muhamad Robat R. A scoping review of global SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based epidemiology in light of COVID-19 pandemic. Heliyon 2024; 10:e30600. [PMID: 38765075 PMCID: PMC11098849 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30600] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Revised: 04/30/2024] [Accepted: 04/30/2024] [Indexed: 05/21/2024] Open
Abstract
Recently, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) research has experienced a strong impetus during the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. However, a few technical issues related to surveillance strategies, such as standardized procedures ranging from sampling to testing protocols, need to be resolved in preparation for future infectious disease outbreaks. This review highlights the study characteristics, potential use of WBE and overview of methods, as well as methods utilized to detect severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) including its variant in wastewater. A literature search was performed electronically in PubMed and Scopus according to PRISMA guidelines for relevant peer-reviewed articles published between January 2020 and March 2022. The search identified 588 articles, out of which 221 fulfilled the necessary criteria and are discussed in this review. Most global WBE studies were conducted in North America (n = 75, 34 %), followed by Europe (n = 68, 30.8 %), and Asia (n = 43, 19.5 %). The review also showed that most of the application of WBE observed were to correlate SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA) trends in sewage with epidemiological data (n = 90, 40.7 %). The techniques that were often used globally for sample collection, concentration, preferred matrix recovery control and various sample types were also discussed. Overall, this review provided a framework for researchers specializing in WBE to apply strategic approaches to their research questions in achieving better functional insights. In addition, areas that needed more in-depth analysis, data collection, and ideas for new initiatives were identified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siti Aishah Rashid
- Environmental Health Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Sakshaleni Rajendiran
- Environmental Health Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Raheel Nazakat
- Environmental Health Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Noraishah Mohammad Sham
- Environmental Health Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Nurul Amalina Khairul Hasni
- Environmental Health Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Mohd Ishtiaq Anasir
- Infectious Disease Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Khayri Azizi Kamel
- Infectious Disease Research Centre, Institute for Medical Research, National Institutes of Health (NIH), Ministry of Health, Shah Alam, Selangor, Malaysia
| | - Rosnawati Muhamad Robat
- Occupational & Environmental Health Unit, Public Health Division, Selangor State Health Department, Ministry of Health Malaysia, Malaysia
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12
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Hotta C, Fujinuma Y, Ogawa T, Akita M, Ogawa T. Surveillance of Wastewater to Monitor the Prevalence of Gastroenteritis Viruses in Chiba Prefecture (2014-2019). J Epidemiol 2024; 34:195-202. [PMID: 37211397 PMCID: PMC10918334 DOI: 10.2188/jea.je20220305] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2023] [Indexed: 05/23/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In Japan, sentinel surveillance is used to monitor the trend of infectious gastroenteritis. Another method of pathogen surveillance, wastewater-based epidemiology, has been used recently because it can help to monitor infectious disease without relying on patient data. Here, we aimed to determine the viral trends reflected in the number of reported patients and number of gastroenteritis virus-positive samples. We focused on gastroenteritis viruses present in wastewater and investigated the usefulness of wastewater surveillance for the surveillance of infectious gastroenteritis. METHODS Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used for viral gene detection in wastewater. The number of reported patients per pediatric sentinel site and number of viral genome copies were compared for correlation potential. The number of gastroenteritis virus-positive samples reported by National Epidemiological Surveillance of Infectious Disease (NESID) and the status of gastroenteritis viruses detected in wastewater were also evaluated. RESULTS Genes of norovirus genotype I, norovirus genotype II, sapovirus, astrovirus, rotavirus group A, and rotavirus group C were detected in wastewater samples. Viruses were detected in wastewater during periods when no gastroenteritis virus-positive samples were reported to NESID. CONCLUSION Norovirus genotype II and other gastroenteritis viruses were detected in wastewater even during periods when no gastroenteritis virus-positive samples were found. Therefore, surveillance using wastewater can complement sentinel surveillance and is an effective tool for the surveillance of infectious gastroenteritis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiemi Hotta
- Division of Virology and Medical Zoology, Chiba Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Chiba, Japan
| | - Yuki Fujinuma
- Division of Virology and Medical Zoology, Chiba Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Chiba, Japan
| | - Takashi Ogawa
- Division of Virology and Medical Zoology, Chiba Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Chiba, Japan
| | - Mamiko Akita
- Division of Virology and Medical Zoology, Chiba Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Chiba, Japan
| | - Tomoko Ogawa
- Division of Virology and Medical Zoology, Chiba Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Chiba, Japan
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13
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Toribio-Avedillo D, Gómez-Gómez C, Sala-Comorera L, Galofré B, Muniesa M. Adapted methods for monitoring influenza virus and respiratory syncytial virus in sludge and wastewater. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 918:170636. [PMID: 38331285 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.170636] [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: 11/30/2023] [Revised: 01/10/2024] [Accepted: 01/31/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater-based surveillance constitutes a valuable methodology for the continuous monitoring of viral circulation, with the capacity to function as an early warning system. It holds particular significance in scenarios where respiratory viruses exhibit overlapping clinical presentations, as occurs with SARS-CoV-2, influenza virus (IV), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and allows seasonal virus outbreaks to be distinguished from COVID-19 peaks. Furthermore, sewage sludge, given it harbors concentrated human waste from a large population, serves as a substantial reservoir for pathogen detection. To effectively integrate wastewater-based epidemiology into infectious disease surveillance, the detection methods employed in wastewater samples must be adapted to the distinct characteristics of sludge matrices. In this study, we adapted and applied protocols for the detection of IV and RSV in sewage sludge, comparing their performance with the results obtained in wastewater. To assess the efficiency of these protocols, sludge and wastewater samples were spiked with IV and RSV RNA, either free or incorporated in lentiviral particles. Samples were concentrated using the aluminum hydroxide adsorption-precipitation method before viral RNA extraction. Absolute virus quantification was carried out by RT-qPCR, including an internal control to monitor potential inhibitory factors. Recovery efficiencies for both free IV and RSV RNA were 60 % in sludge, and 75 % and 71 % respectively in wastewater, whereas the values for IV and RSV RNA in lentiviral particles were 16 % and 10 % in sludge and 21 % and 17 % in wastewater respectively. Additionally, the protocol enabled the quantification of naturally occurring IV and RSV in wastewater and sludge samples collected from two wastewater treatment plants during the winter months, thus affirming the efficacy of the employed methodologies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Toribio-Avedillo
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 643 Annex, Floor 0, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Clara Gómez-Gómez
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 643 Annex, Floor 0, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Laura Sala-Comorera
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 643 Annex, Floor 0, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
| | - Belén Galofré
- Aigües de Barcelona, Empresa Metropolitana de Gestió del Cicle Integral de l'Aigua, General Batet 1-7, Barcelona 08028, Spain
| | - Maite Muniesa
- Departament de Genètica, Microbiologia i Estadística, Universitat de Barcelona, Diagonal 643 Annex, Floor 0, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain.
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14
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Parkins MD, Lee BE, Acosta N, Bautista M, Hubert CRJ, Hrudey SE, Frankowski K, Pang XL. Wastewater-based surveillance as a tool for public health action: SARS-CoV-2 and beyond. Clin Microbiol Rev 2024; 37:e0010322. [PMID: 38095438 PMCID: PMC10938902 DOI: 10.1128/cmr.00103-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/16/2024] Open
Abstract
Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) has undergone dramatic advancement in the context of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The power and potential of this platform technology were rapidly realized when it became evident that not only did WBS-measured SARS-CoV-2 RNA correlate strongly with COVID-19 clinical disease within monitored populations but also, in fact, it functioned as a leading indicator. Teams from across the globe rapidly innovated novel approaches by which wastewater could be collected from diverse sewersheds ranging from wastewater treatment plants (enabling community-level surveillance) to more granular locations including individual neighborhoods and high-risk buildings such as long-term care facilities (LTCF). Efficient processes enabled SARS-CoV-2 RNA extraction and concentration from the highly dilute wastewater matrix. Molecular and genomic tools to identify, quantify, and characterize SARS-CoV-2 and its various variants were adapted from clinical programs and applied to these mixed environmental systems. Novel data-sharing tools allowed this information to be mobilized and made immediately available to public health and government decision-makers and even the public, enabling evidence-informed decision-making based on local disease dynamics. WBS has since been recognized as a tool of transformative potential, providing near-real-time cost-effective, objective, comprehensive, and inclusive data on the changing prevalence of measured analytes across space and time in populations. However, as a consequence of rapid innovation from hundreds of teams simultaneously, tremendous heterogeneity currently exists in the SARS-CoV-2 WBS literature. This manuscript provides a state-of-the-art review of WBS as established with SARS-CoV-2 and details the current work underway expanding its scope to other infectious disease targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael D. Parkins
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
- O’Brien Institute of Public Health, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Bonita E. Lee
- Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Nicole Acosta
- Department of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Maria Bautista
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Casey R. J. Hubert
- Department of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Science, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Steve E. Hrudey
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Kevin Frankowski
- Advancing Canadian Water Assets, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Xiao-Li Pang
- Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
- Provincial Health Laboratory, Alberta Health Services, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
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15
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Dehghan Banadaki M, Torabi S, Rockward A, Strike WD, Noble A, Keck JW, Berry SM. Simple SARS-CoV-2 concentration methods for wastewater surveillance in low resource settings. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 912:168782. [PMID: 38000737 PMCID: PMC10842712 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.168782] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2023] [Revised: 11/18/2023] [Accepted: 11/20/2023] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) measures pathogens in wastewater to monitor infectious disease prevalence in communities. Due to the high dilution of pathogens in sewage, a concentration method is often required to achieve reliable biomarker signals. However, most of the current concentration methods rely on expensive equipment and labor-intensive processes, which limits the application of WBE in low-resource settings. Here, we compared the performance of four inexpensive and simple concentration methods to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples: Solid Fraction, Porcine Gastric Mucin-conjugated Magnetic Beads, Calcium Flocculation-Citrate Dissolution (CFCD), and Nanotrap® Magnetic Beads (NMBs). The NMBs and CFCD methods yielded the highest concentration performance for SARS-CoV-2 (∼16-fold concentration and ∼ 41 % recovery) and require <45 min processing time. CFCD has a relatively low consumable cost (<$2 per four sample replicates). All methods can be performed with basic laboratory equipment and minimal electricity usage which enables further application of WBE in remote areas and low resource settings.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Soroosh Torabi
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Kentucky, United States
| | - Alexus Rockward
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Kentucky, United States
| | - William D Strike
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Kentucky, United States
| | - Ann Noble
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Kentucky, United States
| | - James W Keck
- WWAMI School of Medicine, University of Alaska Anchorage, United States
| | - Scott M Berry
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Kentucky, United States; Department of Biomedical Engineering, College of Engineering, University of Kentucky, United States.
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16
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Katayama YA, Hayase S, Iwamoto R, Kuroita T, Okuda T, Kitajima M, Masago Y. Simultaneous extraction and detection of DNA and RNA from viruses, prokaryotes, and eukaryotes in wastewater using a modified COPMAN. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 907:167866. [PMID: 37863234 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167866] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2023] [Revised: 10/13/2023] [Accepted: 10/13/2023] [Indexed: 10/22/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater surveillance can offer a comprehensive grasp of infectious disease prevalence and human health because wastewater contains various human-derived microbial pathogens, including viruses, bacteria, and fungi. However, methods capable of simultaneous detection of multiple groups of targets in the automated systems and large-scale surveillance are still under development. Here, we demonstrated the modification, involving the addition of bead-beating, to the existing COPMAN (COagulation and Proteolysis method using MAgnetic beads for detection of Nucleic acids in wastewater) enabled enhanced detection of various microorganisms, including SARS-CoV-2. The modified method, termed bead-beating COPMAN (BB-COPMAN), was evaluated through spike-and-recovery experiments and comparative analysis against three previously reported methods for simultaneous DNA/RNA detection. Our study targeted a range of microorganisms, including enveloped and non-enveloped RNA viruses (SARS-CoV-2, PMMoV), a DNA virus (crAssphage), archaea, gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria (E. coli, Lachnospiraceae), antibiotic resistance gene (ampC), and fungi (Candida albicans). The recovery rates of BB-COPMAN for gram-negative and gram-positive bacteria were 17 and 2.1-fold higher, respectively, compared to the method for DNA/RNA detection. Additionally, BB-COPMAN exhibited the highest extraction efficiency among the tested methods, achieving 1.2-5.7 times more DNA and 1.1-69 times more RNA yield on average. BB-COPMAN allowed the detection of SARS-CoV-2 from all nine samples and PMMoV at concentrations 39-97 times higher than other methods. Moreover, BB-COPMAN detected larger amounts of DNA for four out of six DNA targets than the previously reported DNA/RNA detection method. These results demonstrated that BB-COPMAN enables enhanced detection of multiple targets in a single flow of nucleic acid extraction, making the method well-suited for automated systems. In conclusion, BB-COPMAN is a promising method in wastewater surveillance for assessing the prevalence of wide range of pathogenic microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuka Adachi Katayama
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Pharmaceutical Research Center, 1-1, Futaba-cho 3-chome, Toyonaka, Osaka 561-0825, Japan
| | - Shin Hayase
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Pharmaceutical Research Center, 1-1, Futaba-cho 3-chome, Toyonaka, Osaka 561-0825, Japan
| | - Ryo Iwamoto
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Head Office, 3-1-8 Doshomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan; AdvanSentinel Inc., 3-1-8 Doshomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Kuroita
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Head Office, 3-1-8 Doshomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan; AdvanSentinel Inc., 3-1-8 Doshomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Tomohiko Okuda
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Pharmaceutical Research Center, 1-1, Futaba-cho 3-chome, Toyonaka, Osaka 561-0825, Japan
| | - Masaaki Kitajima
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Yusaku Masago
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Pharmaceutical Research Center, 1-1, Futaba-cho 3-chome, Toyonaka, Osaka 561-0825, Japan.
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17
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Cutrupi F, Cadonna M, Postinghel M, Foladori P. SARS-CoV-2 removal in municipal wastewater treatment plants: Focus on conventional activated sludge, membrane bioreactor and anaerobic digestion. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 906:167434. [PMID: 37774861 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167434] [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: 06/23/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 09/26/2023] [Indexed: 10/01/2023]
Abstract
This work focuses on the removal of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the various stages of a full-scale municipal WWTP characterised by two biological processes in parallel: (i) conventional activated sludge (CAS) and (ii) membrane bioreactor (MBR). The monitoring was carried out during the Omicron wave in 2022, a period characterised by a high concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in influent wastewater. The average concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in influent wastewater was 3.7 × 104 GU/L. In the primary sedimentation, the removal of SARS-CoV-2 was not appreciable. The largest log removal value of SARs-CoV-2 occurred in the biological stages, with 1.8 ± 0.9 and 2.2 ± 0.7 logs in CAS and MBR systems. The mean concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in the CAS and MBR effluents were 6.8 × 102 GU/L and 6.4 × 102 GU/L, respectively. The MBR effluent showed more negative samples, because small particles are retained by membrane and cake layer. The analysis of the different types of sludge confirmed the accumulation of SARS-CoV-2 in primary (5.2 × 104 GU/L) and secondary sludge (3.5 × 104 GU/L), due to the affinity of enveloped viruses towards biosolids. A SARS-CoV-2 concentration in the digested sludge equal to 4.8 × 104 GU/L denotes a negligible reduction in the mesophilic anaerobic digester at temperature of 31-33 °C.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francesca Cutrupi
- Center Agriculture Food Environment (C3A) - University of Trento, via Edmund Mach 1, 38098 San Michele all' Adige, TN, Italy
| | - Maria Cadonna
- ADEP - Agenzia per la Depurazione, Autonomous Province of Trento, via Gilli, n. 3, 38121 Trento, Italy
| | - Mattia Postinghel
- ADEP - Agenzia per la Depurazione, Autonomous Province of Trento, via Gilli, n. 3, 38121 Trento, Italy
| | - Paola Foladori
- Department of Civil, Environmental and Mechanical Engineering (DICAM) - University of Trento, via Mesiano, n. 77, 38123 Trento, Italy.
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18
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Hegazy N, Tian X, D'Aoust PM, Pisharody L, Towhid ST, Mercier É, Zhang Z, Wan S, Thakali O, Kabir MP, Fang W, Nguyen TB, Ramsay NT, MacKenzie AE, Graber TE, Guilherme S, Delatolla R. Impact of coagulation on SARS-CoV-2 and PMMoV viral signal in wastewater solids. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE AND POLLUTION RESEARCH INTERNATIONAL 2024; 31:5242-5253. [PMID: 38112868 DOI: 10.1007/s11356-023-31444-1] [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: 06/16/2023] [Accepted: 12/05/2023] [Indexed: 12/21/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater surveillance (WWS) of SARS-CoV-2 has become a crucial tool for monitoring COVID-19 cases and outbreaks. Previous studies have indicated that SARS-CoV-2 RNA measurement from testing solid-rich primary sludge yields better sensitivity compared to testing wastewater influent. Furthermore, measurement of pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) signal in wastewater allows for precise normalization of SARS-CoV-2 viral signal based on solid content, enhancing disease prevalence tracking. However, despite the widespread adoption of WWS, a knowledge gap remains regarding the impact of ferric sulfate coagulation, commonly used in enhanced primary clarification, the initial stage of wastewater treatment where solids are sedimented and removed, on SARS-CoV-2 and PMMoV quantification in wastewater-based epidemiology. This study examines the effects of ferric sulfate addition, along with the associated pH reduction, on the measurement of SARS-CoV-2 and PMMoV viral measurements in wastewater primary clarified sludge through jar testing. Results show that the addition of Fe3+ concentrations in the conventional 0 to 60 mg/L range caused no effect on SARS-CoV-2 N1 and N2 gene region measurements in wastewater solids. However, elevated Fe3+ concentrations were shown to be associated with a statistically significant increase in PMMoV viral measurements in wastewater solids, which consequently resulted in the underestimation of PMMoV-normalized SARS-CoV-2 viral signal measurements (N1 and N2 copies/copies of PMMoV). The observed pH reduction from coagulant addition did not contribute to the increased PMMoV measurements, suggesting that this phenomenon arises from the partitioning of PMMoV viral particles into wastewater solids.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nada Hegazy
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Xin Tian
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Patrick M D'Aoust
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Lakshmi Pisharody
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | | | - Élisabeth Mercier
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Zhihao Zhang
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Shen Wan
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Ocean Thakali
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Md Pervez Kabir
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Wanting Fang
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Tram B Nguyen
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Nathan T Ramsay
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Alex E MacKenzie
- Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Tyson E Graber
- Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute, Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | | | - Robert Delatolla
- Department of Civil Engineering, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON, Canada.
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19
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Canh VD, Nga TTV, Lien NT, Katayama H. Development of a simple and low-cost method using Moringa seeds for efficient virus concentration in wastewater. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 905:167101. [PMID: 37716673 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167101] [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: 08/05/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/13/2023] [Indexed: 09/18/2023]
Abstract
Effective virus concentration methods are essential for detecting pathogenic viruses in environmental waters and play a crucial role in wastewater-based epidemiology. However, the current methods are often expensive, complicated, and time-consuming, which limits their practical application. In this study, a simple and low-cost method was developed using the extract of Moringa oleifera (MO) seeds (MO method) to recover both enveloped and non-enveloped viruses, including pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), murine norovirus (MNV), Aichivirus (AiV), murine hepatitis virus (MHV), and influenza A virus subtype H1N1[H1N1] in wastewater. The optimal conditions for the MO method were determined to be a concentration of MO extract at the UV280 value of 0.308 cm-1 and an elution buffer (0.05 M KH2PO4, 1 M NaCl, 0.1 % Tween80 [v/v]) for recovering the tested viruses in wastewater. Compared to other commonly used virus concentration methods such as InnovaPrep, HA, PEG, and Centricon, the MO method was found to be more efficient and cost-effective in recovering the tested viruses. Moreover, the MO method was successfully applied to detect various types of viruses (PMMoV, AiV, norovirus of genotype II [NoV II], enterovirus [EV], influenza A virus [matrix gene] [IAV], and SARS-CoV-2) in raw wastewater. Thus, the developed MO method could offer a simple, low-cost, and efficient tool to concentrate viruses in wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vu Duc Canh
- Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
| | - Tran Thi Viet Nga
- Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong Road, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi, Viet Nam
| | - Nguyen Thuy Lien
- Faculty of Environmental Engineering, Hanoi University of Civil Engineering, 55 Giai Phong Road, Hai Ba Trung, Hanoi, Viet Nam
| | - Hiroyuki Katayama
- Department of Urban Engineering, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8656, Japan.
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20
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Zhao B, Fujita T, Nihei Y, Yu Z, Chen X, Tanaka H, Ihara M. Tracking community infection dynamics of COVID-19 by monitoring SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater, counting positive reactions by qPCR. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 904:166420. [PMID: 37611711 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.166420] [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: 11/10/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 08/17/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology has proved useful for monitoring the COVID-19 infection dynamics in communities. However, in regions of low prevalence, low concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater make this difficult. Here, we used real-time reverse-transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) to monitor SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater from October 2020 to December 2022 during the third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth waves of the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan. Viral RNA was below the limit of detection in all samples during the third and fourth waves. However, by counting the number of positive replicates in qPCR of each sample, we found that the positive ratio to all replicates in wastewater was significantly correlated with the number of clinically confirmed cases by the date of symptom onset during the third, fourth, and fifth waves. Time-step analysis indicated that, for 2 days either side of symptom onset, COVID-19 patients excreted in their feces large amounts of virus that wastewater surveillance could detect. We also demonstrated that the viral genome copy number in wastewater, as estimated from the positive ratio of SARSA-CoV-2 RNA, was correlated with the number of clinically confirmed cases. The positive count method is thus useful for tracing COVID-19 dynamics in regions of low prevalence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bo Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development on Shallow Lakes, Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, PR China; Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0811, Japan
| | - Tomonori Fujita
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0811, Japan
| | - Yoshiaki Nihei
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0811, Japan; Water Agency Inc., 3-25 Higashi-Goken-cho, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-0813, Japan
| | - Zaizhi Yu
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0811, Japan
| | - Xiaohan Chen
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0811, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Tanaka
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0811, Japan
| | - Masaru Ihara
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, 1-2 Yumihama, Otsu, Shiga 520-0811, Japan; Faculty of Agriculture and Marine Science, Kochi University, 200 Monobe-Otsu, Nankoku city, Kochi 783-8502, Japan.
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21
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Kitamura K, Ueno MK, Yoshida H. Rapid and sensitive on-site detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from environmental surfaces using portable laboratory devices. Microbiol Spectr 2023; 11:e0045623. [PMID: 37791760 PMCID: PMC10715158 DOI: 10.1128/spectrum.00456-23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 10/05/2023] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE This study presents the development of a highly sensitive on-site method for detecting severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA on various surfaces, including doorknobs and tables. Identifying SARS-CoV-2 RNA on these surfaces can be crucial in guiding decision-making for implementing non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as zoning strategies, improving ventilation, maintaining physical distancing, and promoting increased hand hygiene practices. Moreover, the on-site detection system can facilitate the swift initiation of mitigation responses in non-laboratory settings, including long-term care facilities and schools. The protocols established in this study offer a comprehensive approach for achieving both sensitivity and rapidity in on-site SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection. Furthermore, since the RT-qPCR assay serves as the gold standard for detecting viral RNAs, the developed protocol holds potential for application to other viruses, including enteroviruses and noroviruses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kouichi Kitamura
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Minami Kikuchi Ueno
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiromu Yoshida
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Musashimurayama-shi, Tokyo, Japan
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22
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Hoque SA, Saito H, Akino W, Kotaki T, Okitsu S, Onda Y, Kobayashi T, Hossian T, Khamrin P, Motomura K, Maneekarn N, Hayakawa S, Ushijima H. The Emergence and Widespread Circulation of Enteric Viruses Throughout the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Wastewater-Based Evidence. FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL VIROLOGY 2023; 15:342-354. [PMID: 37898959 DOI: 10.1007/s12560-023-09566-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 10/31/2023]
Abstract
Growing evidence shed light on the importance of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) during the pandemic, when the patients rarely visited the clinics despite the fact that the infections were still prevalent in the community as before. The abundance of infections in the community poses a constant threat of the emergence of new epidemic strains. Herein, we investigated enteric viruses in raw sewage water (SW) from Japan's Tohoku region and compared them to those from the Kansai region to better understand the circulating strains and their distribution across communities during the COVID-19 pandemic. Raw SW was collected between 2019 and 2022, concentrated by polyethylene-glycol-precipitation method, and investigated for major AGE viruses by RT-PCR. Sequence-based analyses were used to assess genotypes and evolutionary relationships. The most commonly detected enteric virus was rotavirus A (RVA) at 63.8%, followed by astrovirus (AstV) at 61.1%, norovirus (NoV) GII and adenovirus (AdV) at 33.3%, sapovirus (SV) at 25.0%, enterovirus (EV) at 19.4%, and NoV GI at 13.9%. The highest prevalence (46.0%) was found in the spring. Importantly, enteric viruses did not decline during the pandemic. Rather, several strains like NoV GII.2, DS-1-like human G3 (equine) RVA, MLB1 AstV, and different F41 HAdV emerged throughout the pandemic and spread widely over the Tohoku and Kansai regions. Tohoku's detection rate remained lower than that of the Kansai area (36 vs 58%). This study provides evidence for the emergence and spread of enteric viruses during the pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheikh Ariful Hoque
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 OyaguchiKamicho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan
- Cell and Tissue Culture Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences (CARS), University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Hiroyuki Saito
- Department of Microbiology, Akita Prefectual Research Center for Public Health and Environment, Akita, Japan
| | - Wakako Akino
- Department of Microbiology, Akita Prefectual Research Center for Public Health and Environment, Akita, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Kotaki
- Department of Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Shoko Okitsu
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 OyaguchiKamicho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan
| | - Yuko Onda
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 OyaguchiKamicho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan
| | - Takeshi Kobayashi
- Department of Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, Japan
| | - Tania Hossian
- Cell and Tissue Culture Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences (CARS), University of Dhaka, Dhaka, Bangladesh
| | - Pattara Khamrin
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | | | - Niwat Maneekarn
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Satoshi Hayakawa
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 OyaguchiKamicho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Ushijima
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 OyaguchiKamicho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan.
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23
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Alamin M, Hara-Yamamura H, Hata A, Zhao B, Ihara M, Tanaka H, Watanabe T, Honda R. Reduction of SARS-CoV-2 by biological nutrient removal and disinfection processes in full-scale wastewater treatment plants. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 895:165097. [PMID: 37356766 PMCID: PMC10290167 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165097] [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: 04/19/2023] [Revised: 06/20/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/27/2023]
Abstract
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater poses people's concerns regarding the potential risk in water bodies receiving wastewater treatment effluent, despite the infectious risk of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater being speculated to be low. Unlike well-studied nonenveloped viruses, SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is present abundantly in both solid and liquid fractions of wastewater. Reduction of SARS-CoV-2 in past studies were likely underestimated, as SARS-CoV-2 in influent wastewater were quantified in either solid or liquid fraction only. The objectives of this study were (i) to clarify the reduction in SARS-CoV-2 RNA during biological nutrient removal and disinfection processes in full-scale WWTPs, considering the SARS-CoV-2 present in both solid and liquid fractions of wastewater, and (ii) to evaluate applicability of pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) as a performance indicator for reduction of SARS-CoV-2 in WWTPs. Accordingly, large amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were partitioned in the solid fraction of influent wastewater for composite sampling than grab sampling. When SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the both solid and liquid fractions were considered, log reduction values (LRVs) of SARS-CoV-2 during step-feed multistage biological nitrogen removal (SM-BNR) and enhanced biological phosphorus removal (EBPR) processes ranged between>2.1-4.4 log and did not differ significantly from those in conventional activated sludge (CAS). The LRVs of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in disinfection processes by ozonation and chlorination did not differ significantly. PMMoV is a promising performance indicator to secure reduction of SARS-CoV-2 in WWTPs, because of its higher persistence in wastewater treatment processes and abundance at a detectable concentration even in the final effluent after disinfection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Md Alamin
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Japan
| | | | - Akihiko Hata
- Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University, Japan
| | - Bo Zhao
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Japan; College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
| | - Masaru Ihara
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Japan; Faculty of Agriculture and Marine Science, Kochi University, Japan
| | - Hiroaki Tanaka
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Japan
| | | | - Ryo Honda
- Faculty of Geosciences and Civil Engineering, Kanazawa University, Japan; Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Japan.
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24
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Breadner PR, Dhiyebi HA, Fattahi A, Srikanthan N, Hayat S, Aucoin MG, Boegel SJ, Bragg LM, Craig PM, Xie Y, Giesy JP, Servos MR. A comparative analysis of the partitioning behaviour of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in liquid and solid fractions of wastewater. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 895:165095. [PMID: 37355124 PMCID: PMC10287177 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.165095] [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: 04/09/2023] [Revised: 05/30/2023] [Accepted: 06/21/2023] [Indexed: 06/26/2023]
Abstract
As fragments of SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be quantified and measured temporally in wastewater, surveillance of concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater has become a vital resource for tracking the spread of COVID-19 in and among communities. However, the absence of standardized methods has affected the interpretation of data for public health efforts. In particular, analyzing either the liquid or solid fraction has implications for the interpretation of how viral RNA is quantified. Characterizing how SARS-CoV-2 or its RNA fragments partition in wastewater is a central part of understanding fate and behaviour in wastewater. In this study, partitioning of SARS-CoV-2 was investigated by use of centrifugation with varied durations of spin and centrifugal force, polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation followed by centrifugation, and ultrafiltration of wastewater. Partitioning of the endogenous pepper mild mottled virus (PMMoV), used to normalize the SARS-CoV-2 signal for fecal load in trend analysis, was also examined. Additionally, two surrogates for coronavirus, human coronavirus 229E and murine hepatitis virus, were analyzed as process controls. Even though SARS-CoV-2 has an affinity for solids, the total RNA copies of SARS-CoV-2 per wastewater sample, after centrifugation (12,000 g, 1.5 h, no brake), were partitioned evenly between the liquid and solid fractions. Centrifugation at greater speeds for longer durations resulted in a shift in partitioning for all viruses toward the solid fraction except for PMMoV, which remained mostly in the liquid fraction. The surrogates more closely reflected the partitioning of SARS-CoV-2 under high centrifugation speed and duration while PMMoV did not. Interestingly, ultrafiltration devices were inconsistent in estimating RNA copies in wastewater, which can influence the interpretation of partitioning. Developing a better understanding of the fate of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and creating a foundation of best practices is the key to supporting the current pandemic response and preparing for future potential infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patrick R Breadner
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Hadi A Dhiyebi
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Azar Fattahi
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Nivetha Srikanthan
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Samina Hayat
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Marc G Aucoin
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Scott J Boegel
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Leslie M Bragg
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Paul M Craig
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada
| | - Yuwei Xie
- Key Laboratory of Pesticide Environmental Assessment and Pollution Control, Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sciences, Ministry of Ecology and Environment, Nanjing 210042, China; Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 44 Campus Dr, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3, Canada
| | - John P Giesy
- Toxicology Centre, University of Saskatchewan, 44 Campus Dr, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5B3, Canada; Department of Environmental Science, Baylor University, One Bear Place, Waco, TX 76798, USA
| | - Mark R Servos
- Department of Biology, University of Waterloo, 200 University Ave W, Waterloo, Ontario N2L 3G1, Canada.
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25
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Roldan-Hernandez L, Boehm AB. Adsorption of Respiratory Syncytial Virus, Rhinovirus, SARS-CoV-2, and F+ Bacteriophage MS2 RNA onto Wastewater Solids from Raw Wastewater. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:13346-13355. [PMID: 37647137 PMCID: PMC10501194 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c03376] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/04/2023] [Revised: 08/01/2023] [Accepted: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/01/2023]
Abstract
Despite the widespread adoption of wastewater surveillance, more research is needed to understand the fate and transport of viral genetic markers in wastewater. This information is essential for optimizing monitoring strategies and interpreting wastewater surveillance data. In this study, we examined the solid-liquid partitioning behavior of four viruses in wastewater: SARS-CoV-2, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), rhinovirus (RV), and F+ coliphage/MS2. We used two approaches: (1) laboratory partitioning experiments using lab-grown viruses and (2) distribution experiments using endogenous viruses in raw wastewater. Partition experiments were conducted at 4 and 22 °C. Wastewater samples were spiked with varying concentrations of each virus, solids and liquids were separated via centrifugation, and viral RNA concentrations were quantified using reverse-transcription-digital droplet PCR (RT-ddPCR). For the distribution experiments, wastewater samples were collected from six wastewater treatment plants and processed without spiking exogenous viruses; viral RNA concentrations were measured in wastewater solids and liquids. In both experiments, RNA concentrations were higher in the solid fraction than the liquid fraction by approximately 3-4 orders of magnitude. Partition coefficients (KF) ranged from 2000-270,000 mL·g-1 across viruses and temperature conditions. Distribution coefficients (Kd) were consistent with results from partitioning experiments. Further research is needed to understand how virus and wastewater characteristics might influence the partitioning of viral genetic markers in wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Roldan-Hernandez
- Department of Civil &
Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Doerr School
of Sustainability, Stanford University, 473 Via Ortega, Stanford, California 94305, United States
| | - Alexandria B. Boehm
- Department of Civil &
Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering and Doerr School
of Sustainability, Stanford University, 473 Via Ortega, Stanford, California 94305, United States
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26
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Bowes D, Darling A, Driver EM, Kaya D, Maal-Bared R, Lee LM, Goodman K, Adhikari S, Aggarwal S, Bivins A, Bohrerova Z, Cohen A, Duvallet C, Elnimeiry RA, Hutchison JM, Kapoor V, Keenum I, Ling F, Sills D, Tiwari A, Vikesland P, Ziels R, Mansfeldt C. Structured Ethical Review for Wastewater-Based Testing in Support of Public Health. ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY 2023; 57:12969-12980. [PMID: 37611169 PMCID: PMC10484207 DOI: 10.1021/acs.est.3c04529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Revised: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/10/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based testing (WBT) for SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly expanded over the past three years due to its ability to provide a comprehensive measurement of disease prevalence independent of clinical testing. The development and simultaneous application of WBT measured biomarkers for research activities and for the pursuit of public health goals, both areas with well-established ethical frameworks. Currently, WBT practitioners do not employ a standardized ethical review process, introducing the potential for adverse outcomes for WBT professionals and community members. To address this deficiency, an interdisciplinary workshop developed a framework for a structured ethical review of WBT. The workshop employed a consensus approach to create this framework as a set of 11 questions derived from primarily public health guidance. This study retrospectively applied these questions to SARS-CoV-2 monitoring programs covering the emergent phase of the pandemic (3/2020-2/2022 (n = 53)). Of note, 43% of answers highlight a lack of reported information to assess. Therefore, a systematic framework would at a minimum structure the communication of ethical considerations for applications of WBT. Consistent application of an ethical review will also assist in developing a practice of updating approaches and techniques to reflect the concerns held by both those practicing and those being monitored by WBT supported programs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devin
A. Bowes
- Biodesign
Center for Environmental Health Engineering, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
- Center on
Forced Displacement, Boston University, 111 Cummington Mall, Boston, Massachusetts 02215, United States
| | - Amanda Darling
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1145 Perry Street, 415 Durham Hall; Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Erin M. Driver
- Biodesign
Center for Environmental Health Engineering, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Devrim Kaya
- School of
Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, 105 26th St, Corvallis, Oregon 97331, United States
- School of
Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego and Imperial Valley, California 92182, United States
| | - Rasha Maal-Bared
- Quality
Assurance and Environment, EPCOR Water Services Inc., EPCOR Tower, 2000−10423 101
Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta T5H 0E7, Canada
| | - Lisa M. Lee
- Department
of Population Health Sciences and Division of Scholarly Integrity
and Research Compliance, Virginia Tech, 300 Turner St. NW, Suite 4120 (0497), Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Kenneth Goodman
- Institute
for Bioethics and Health Policy, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33101, United States
| | - Sangeet Adhikari
- Biodesign
Center for Environmental Health Engineering, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, Arizona 85287, United States
| | - Srijan Aggarwal
- Department
of Civil, Geological, and Environmental Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1764 Tanana Loop, Fairbanks, Alaska 99775, United States
| | - Aaron Bivins
- Department
of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University, 3255 Patrick F. Taylor Hall, Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803, United States
| | - Zuzana Bohrerova
- The Ohio
State University, Department of Civil, Environmental
and Geodetic Engineering, 2070 Neil Avenue, 470 Hitchcock Hall, Columbus, Ohio 43210, United States
| | - Alasdair Cohen
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1145 Perry Street, 415 Durham Hall; Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
- Department
of Population Health Sciences, Virginia
Tech, 205 Duck Pond Drive, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Claire Duvallet
- Biobot
Analytics, Inc., 501
Massachusetts Avenue; Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, United States
| | - Rasha A. Elnimeiry
- Public
Health Outbreak Coordination, Informatics, Surveillance (PHOCIS) Office—Surveillance
Section, Division of Disease Control and Health Statistics, Washington State Department of Health, 111 Israel Rd SE, Tumwater, Washington 98501, United States
| | - Justin M. Hutchison
- Department
of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Kansas, 1530 W 15th St, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, United States
| | - Vikram Kapoor
- School
of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Construction Management, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle, San Antonio, Texas 78249, United States
| | - Ishi Keenum
- Complex
Microbial Systems Group, National Institute
of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Dr, Gaithersburg, Maryland 20899, United States
| | - Fangqiong Ling
- Department
of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, Missouri 63130, United States
| | - Deborah Sills
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, Pennsylvania 17837, United States
| | - Ananda Tiwari
- Department
of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Agnes Sjöberginkatu 2,
P.O. Box 66, FI 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Expert
Microbiology Unit, Finnish Institute for
Health and Welfare, FI 70600 Kuopio, Finland
| | - Peter Vikesland
- Department
of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1145 Perry Street, 415 Durham Hall; Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, United States
| | - Ryan Ziels
- Department
of Civil Engineering, The University of
British Columbia, 6250
Applied Science Ln #2002, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada
| | - Cresten Mansfeldt
- Department
of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, UCB 428, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
- Environmental
Engineering Program, University of Colorado
Boulder, UCB 607, Boulder, Colorado 80309, United States
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27
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López-Peñalver RS, Cañas-Cañas R, Casaña-Mohedo J, Benavent-Cervera JV, Fernández-Garrido J, Juárez-Vela R, Pellín-Carcelén A, Gea-Caballero V, Andreu-Fernández V. Predictive potential of SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration in wastewater to assess the dynamics of COVID-19 clinical outcomes and infections. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 886:163935. [PMID: 37164095 PMCID: PMC10164651 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163935] [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: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 04/27/2023] [Accepted: 04/30/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
Coronavirus disease 2019 - caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) -, has triggered a worldwide pandemic resulting in 665 million infections and over 6.5 million deaths as of December 15, 2022. The development of different epidemiological tools have helped predict new outbreaks and assess the behavior of clinical variables in different health contexts. In this study, we aimed to monitor concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater as a tool to predict the progression of clinical variables during Waves 3, 5, and 6 of the pandemic in the Spanish city of Xátiva from September 2020 to March 2022. We estimated SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in 195 wastewater samples using the RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel validated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. We also compared the trends of several clinical variables (14-day cumulative incidence, positive cases, hospital cases and stays, critical cases and stays, primary care visits, and deaths) for each study wave against wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations using Pearson's product-moment correlations, a two-sided Mann-Whitney U test, and a cross-correlation analysis. We found strong correlations between SARS-CoV-2 concentrations with 14-day cumulative incidence and positive cases over time. Wastewater RNA concentrations showed strong correlations with these variables one and two weeks in advance. There were significant correlations with hospitalizations and critical care during Wave 3 and Wave 6; cross-correlations were stronger for hospitalization stays one week before during Wave 6. No association between vaccination percentages and wastewater viral concentrations was observed. Our findings support wastewater SARS-CoV-2 concentrations as a potential surveillance tool to anticipate infection and epidemiological data such as 14-day cumulative incidence, hospitalizations, and critical care stays. Public health authorities could use this epidemiological tool on a similar population as an aid for health care decision-making during an epidemic outbreak.
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Affiliation(s)
- Raimundo Seguí López-Peñalver
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Valencian International University (VIU), 46002, Valencia, Spain; Global Omnium, Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Jorge Casaña-Mohedo
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Valencian International University (VIU), 46002, Valencia, Spain; Faculty of Health Sciences, Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir, 46001, Valencia, Spain
| | | | - Julio Fernández-Garrido
- Consellería de Sanidad Universal y Salud Pública, Generalitat Valenciana, Department of Nursing, University of Valencia, 46001 Jaume Roig St, Valencia, Spain
| | - Raúl Juárez-Vela
- Faculty of Health Sciences, La Rioja University, 26006 Logroño, Spain
| | - Ana Pellín-Carcelén
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Valencian International University (VIU), 46002, Valencia, Spain
| | - Vicente Gea-Caballero
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Valencian International University (VIU), 46002, Valencia, Spain
| | - Vicente Andreu-Fernández
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Valencian International University (VIU), 46002, Valencia, Spain; Biosanitary Research Institute, Valencian International University (VIU), 46002, Valencia, Spain.
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Angga MS, Malla B, Raya S, Kitajima M, Haramoto E. Optimization and performance evaluation of an automated filtration method for the recovery of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses in wastewater. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 882:163487. [PMID: 37068668 PMCID: PMC10105377 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163487] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2023] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 04/09/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
A rapid virus concentration method is needed to get high throughput. Reliable results of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection in wastewater are necessary for applications in wastewater-based epidemiology. In this study, an automated filtration method using a concentrating pipette (CP Select; Innovaprep) was applied to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples with several modifications to increase its sensitivity and throughput. The performance of the CP Select method was compared to other concentration methods (polyethylene glycol precipitation and direct capture using silica column) to evaluate its applicability to SARS-CoV-2 detection in wastewater. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was successfully detected in six of eight wastewater samples using the CP Select method, whereas other methods could detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in all wastewater samples. Enteric viruses, such as noroviruses of genogroups I (NoVs-GI) and II (NoVs-GII) and enteroviruses, were tested, resulting in 100 % NoVs-GII detection using all concentration methods. As for NoVs-GI and enteroviruses, all methods gave comparable number of detected samples in wastewater samples. This study showed that the optimized CP Select method was less sensitive in SARS-CoV-2 detection in wastewater than other methods, whereas all methods were applicable to detect or recover other viruses in wastewater.
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Affiliation(s)
- Made Sandhyana Angga
- Department of Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, 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
| | - Sunayana Raya
- Department of Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Masaaki Kitajima
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan.
| | - Eiji Haramoto
- Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan.
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Ciannella S, González-Fernández C, Gomez-Pastora J. Recent progress on wastewater-based epidemiology for COVID-19 surveillance: A systematic review of analytical procedures and epidemiological modeling. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 878:162953. [PMID: 36948304 PMCID: PMC10028212 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.162953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2023] [Revised: 03/13/2023] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023]
Abstract
On March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), whose causative agent is the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a pandemic. This virus is predominantly transmitted via respiratory droplets and shed via sputum, saliva, urine, and stool. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been able to monitor the circulation of viral pathogens in the population. This tool demands both in-lab and computational work to be meaningful for, among other purposes, the prediction of outbreaks. In this context, we present a systematic review that organizes and discusses laboratory procedures for SARS-CoV-2 RNA quantification from a wastewater matrix, along with modeling techniques applied to the development of WBE for COVID-19 surveillance. The goal of this review is to present the current panorama of WBE operational aspects as well as to identify current challenges related to it. Our review was conducted in a reproducible manner by following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines for systematic reviews. We identified a lack of standardization in wastewater analytical procedures. Regardless, the reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) approach was the most reported technique employed to detect and quantify viral RNA in wastewater samples. As a more convenient sample matrix, we suggest the solid portion of wastewater to be considered in future investigations due to its higher viral load compared to the liquid fraction. Regarding the epidemiological modeling, the data-driven approach was consistently used for the prediction of variables associated with outbreaks. Future efforts should also be directed toward the development of rapid, more economical, portable, and accurate detection devices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stefano Ciannella
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock 79409, TX, USA.
| | - Cristina González-Fernández
- Department of Chemical Engineering, Texas Tech University, Lubbock 79409, TX, USA; Departamento de Ingenierías Química y Biomolecular, Universidad de Cantabria, Avda. Los Castros, s/n, 39005 Santander, Spain.
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30
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Bowes DA, Darling A, Driver EM, Kaya D, Maal-Bared R, Lee LM, Goodman K, Adhikari S, Aggarwal S, Bivins A, Bohrerova Z, Cohen A, Duvallet C, Elnimeiry RA, Hutchison JM, Kapoor V, Keenum I, Ling F, Sills D, Tiwari A, Vikesland P, Ziels R, Mansfeldt C. Structured Ethical Review for Wastewater-Based Testing. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2023:2023.06.12.23291231. [PMID: 37398480 PMCID: PMC10312843 DOI: 10.1101/2023.06.12.23291231] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based testing (WBT) for SARS-CoV-2 has rapidly expanded over the past three years due to its ability to provide a comprehensive measurement of disease prevalence independent of clinical testing. The development and simultaneous application of the field blurred the boundary between measuring biomarkers for research activities and for pursuit of public health goals, both areas with well-established ethical frameworks. Currently, WBT practitioners do not employ a standardized ethical review process (or associated data management safeguards), introducing the potential for adverse outcomes for WBT professionals and community members. To address this deficiency, an interdisciplinary group developed a framework for a structured ethical review of WBT. The workshop employed a consensus approach to create this framework as a set of 11-questions derived from primarily public health guidance because of the common exemption of wastewater samples to human subject research considerations. This study retrospectively applied the set of questions to peer- reviewed published reports on SARS-CoV-2 monitoring campaigns covering the emergent phase of the pandemic from March 2020 to February 2022 (n=53). Overall, 43% of the responses to the questions were unable to be assessed because of lack of reported information. It is therefore hypothesized that a systematic framework would at a minimum improve the communication of key ethical considerations for the application of WBT. Consistent application of a standardized ethical review will also assist in developing an engaged practice of critically applying and updating approaches and techniques to reflect the concerns held by both those practicing and being monitored by WBT supported campaigns. Abstract Figure Synopsis Development of a structured ethical review facilitates retrospective analysis of published studies and drafted scenarios in the context of wastewater-based testing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Devin A. Bowes
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ, 85287
- Center on Forced Displacement, Boston University, 111 Cummington Mall, Boston, MA, 02215
| | - Amanda Darling
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1145 Perry Street; 415 Durham Hall; Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | - Erin M. Driver
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ, 85287
| | - Devrim Kaya
- School of Chemical, Biological, and Environmental Engineering, Oregon State University, 105 26th St, Corvallis, Oregon 97331
- School of Public Health, San Diego State University, San Diego and Imperial Valley, CA
| | - Rasha Maal-Bared
- Quality Assurance and Environment, EPCOR Water Services Inc., EPCOR Tower, 2000–10423 101 Street NW, Edmonton, Alberta, CA
| | - Lisa M. Lee
- Department of Population Health Sciences and Division of Scholarly Integrity and Research Compliance, Virginia Tech, 300 Turner St. NW, Suite 4120 (0497), Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | - Kenneth Goodman
- Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, Miller School of Medicine, University of Miami, Miami, Florida
| | - Sangeet Adhikari
- Biodesign Center for Environmental Health Engineering, The Biodesign Institute, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, Tempe, AZ, 85287
| | - Srijan Aggarwal
- Department of Civil, Geological, and Environmental Engineering, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1764 Tanana Loop, Fairbanks, AK 99775
| | - Aaron Bivins
- Department of Civil & Environmental Engineering, Louisiana State University, 3255 Patrick F. Taylor Hall, Baton Rouge, LA 70803
| | - Zuzana Bohrerova
- The Ohio State University, Department of Civil, Environmental and Geodetic Engineering, 2070 Neil Avenue, 470 Hitchcock Hall, Columbus, OH 43210
| | - Alasdair Cohen
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1145 Perry Street; 415 Durham Hall; Blacksburg, VA 24061
- Department of Population Health Sciences, Virginia Tech, 205 Duck Pond Drive, Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | - Claire Duvallet
- Biobot Analytics, Inc., 501 Massachusetts Avenue; Cambridge, MA; 02139
| | - Rasha A. Elnimeiry
- Public Health Outbreak Coordination, Informatics, Surveillance (PHOCIS) Office – Surveillance Section, Division of Disease Control and Health Statistics, Washington State Department of Health, 111 Israel Rd SE, Tumwater, WA 98501
| | - Justin M. Hutchison
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Kansas, 1530 W 15th St, Lawrence, KS 66045
| | - Vikram Kapoor
- School of Civil & Environmental Engineering, and Construction Management, University of Texas at San Antonio, 1 UTSA Circle, San Antonio, TX 78249
| | - Ishi Keenum
- Complex Microbial Systems Group, National Institute of Standards and Technology, 100 Bureau Dr, Gaithersburg, MD 20899
| | - Fangqiong Ling
- Department of Energy, Environmental and Chemical Engineering, Washington University in St. Louis, One Brookings Drive, St. Louis, MO, 63130
| | - Deborah Sills
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, 17837
| | - Ananda Tiwari
- Department of Food Hygiene and Environmental Health, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Agnes Sjöberginkatu 2 P.O. Box 66 FI 00014 Helsinki, Finland
- Expert Microbiology Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, Kuopio, Finland
| | - Peter Vikesland
- Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Virginia Tech, 1145 Perry Street; 415 Durham Hall; Blacksburg, VA 24061
| | - Ryan Ziels
- Department of Civil Engineering, the University of British Columbia, 6250 Applied Science Ln #2002, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4
| | - Cresten Mansfeldt
- Department of Civil, Environmental, and Architectural Engineering, University of Colorado Boulder, UCB 428, Boulder, CO 80309
- Environmental Engineering Program, University of Colorado Boulder, UCB 607, Boulder, CO 80309
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Hoque SA, Kotaki T, Pham NTK, Onda Y, Okitsu S, Sato S, Yuki Y, Kobayashi T, Maneekarn N, Kiyono H, Hayakawa S, Ushijima H. Genotype Diversity of Enteric Viruses in Wastewater Amid the COVID-19 Pandemic. FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL VIROLOGY 2023; 15:176-191. [PMID: 37058225 PMCID: PMC10103036 DOI: 10.1007/s12560-023-09553-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Viruses remain the leading cause of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) worldwide. Recently, we reported the abundance of AGE viruses in raw sewage water (SW) during the COVID-19 pandemic, when viral AGE patients decreased dramatically in clinics. Since clinical samples were not reflecting the actual state, it remained important to determine the circulating strains in the SW for preparedness against impending outbreaks. Raw SW was collected from a sewage treatment plant in Japan from August 2018 to March 2022, concentrated by polyethylene-glycol-precipitation method, and investigated for major gastroenteritis viruses by RT-PCR. Genotypes and evolutionary relationships were evaluated through sequence-based analyses. Major AGE viruses like rotavirus A (RVA), norovirus (NoV) GI and GII, and astrovirus (AstV) increased sharply (10-20%) in SW during the COVID-19 pandemic, though some AGE viruses like sapovirus (SV), adenovirus (AdV), and enterovirus (EV) decreased slightly (3-10%). The prevalence remained top in the winter. Importantly, several strains, including G1 and G3 of RVA, GI.1 and GII.2 of NoV, GI.1 of SV, MLB1 of AstV, and F41 of AdV, either emerged or increased amid the pandemic, suggesting that the normal phenomenon of genotype changing remained active over this time. This study crucially presents the molecular characteristics of circulating AGE viruses, explaining the importance of SW investigation during the pandemic when a clinical investigation may not produce the complete scenario.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sheikh Ariful Hoque
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 OyaguchiKamicho, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan
- Cell and Tissue Culture Laboratory, Centre for Advanced Research in Sciences (CARS), University of Dhaka, Dhaka, 1000, Bangladesh
| | - Tomohiro Kotaki
- Department of Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Ngan Thi Kim Pham
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 OyaguchiKamicho, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan
| | - Yuko Onda
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 OyaguchiKamicho, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan
| | - Shoko Okitsu
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 OyaguchiKamicho, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan
| | - Shintaro Sato
- Department of Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
- Department of Microbiology and Immunology, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Wakayama Medical University, Wakayama, 640-8156, Japan
| | - Yoshikazu Yuki
- Department of Human Mucosal Vaccinology, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba, Japan
| | - Takeshi Kobayashi
- Department of Virology, Research Institute for Microbial Diseases, Osaka University, Osaka, 565-0871, Japan
| | - Niwat Maneekarn
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Chiang Mai University, Chiang Mai, Thailand
| | - Hiroshi Kiyono
- Department of Human Mucosal Vaccinology, Chiba University Hospital, Chiba, Japan
- Research Institute of Disaster Medicine, Institute for Global Prominent Research, Institute for Advanced Academic Research, Chiba University, Chiba, Japan
- CU-UCSD Center for Mucosal Immunology, Allergy and Vaccines (cMAV), Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of California, San Diego, USA
| | - Satoshi Hayakawa
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 OyaguchiKamicho, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Ushijima
- Division of Microbiology, Department of Pathology and Microbiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 OyaguchiKamicho, Itabashi-Ku, Tokyo, 173-8610, Japan.
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Hassard F, Vu M, Rahimzadeh S, Castro-Gutierrez V, Stanton I, Burczynska B, Wildeboer D, Baio G, Brown MR, Garelick H, Hofman J, Kasprzyk-Hordern B, Majeed A, Priest S, Denise H, Khalifa M, Bassano I, Wade MJ, Grimsley J, Lundy L, Singer AC, Di Cesare M. Wastewater monitoring for detection of public health markers during the COVID-19 pandemic: Near-source monitoring of schools in England over an academic year. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0286259. [PMID: 37252922 PMCID: PMC10228768 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0286259] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/11/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schools are high-risk settings for infectious disease transmission. Wastewater monitoring for infectious diseases has been used to identify and mitigate outbreaks in many near-source settings during the COVID-19 pandemic, including universities and hospitals but less is known about the technology when applied for school health protection. This study aimed to implement a wastewater surveillance system to detect SARS-CoV-2 and other public health markers from wastewater in schools in England. METHODS A total of 855 wastewater samples were collected from 16 schools (10 primary, 5 secondary and 1 post-16 and further education) over 10 months of school term time. Wastewater was analysed for SARS-CoV-2 genomic copies of N1 and E genes by RT-qPCR. A subset of wastewater samples was sent for genomic sequencing, enabling determination of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and emergence of variant(s) contributing to COVID-19 infections within schools. In total, >280 microbial pathogens and >1200 AMR genes were screened using RT-qPCR and metagenomics to consider the utility of these additional targets to further inform on health threats within the schools. RESULTS We report on wastewater-based surveillance for COVID-19 within English primary, secondary and further education schools over a full academic year (October 2020 to July 2021). The highest positivity rate (80.4%) was observed in the week commencing 30th November 2020 during the emergence of the Alpha variant, indicating most schools contained people who were shedding the virus. There was high SARS-CoV-2 amplicon concentration (up to 9.2x106 GC/L) detected over the summer term (8th June - 6th July 2021) during Delta variant prevalence. The summer increase of SARS-CoV-2 in school wastewater was reflected in age-specific clinical COVID-19 cases. Alpha variant and Delta variant were identified in the wastewater by sequencing of samples collected from December to March and June to July, respectively. Lead/lag analysis between SARS-CoV-2 concentrations in school and WWTP data sets show a maximum correlation between the two-time series when school data are lagged by two weeks. Furthermore, wastewater sample enrichment coupled with metagenomic sequencing and rapid informatics enabled the detection of other clinically relevant viral and bacterial pathogens and AMR. CONCLUSIONS Passive wastewater monitoring surveillance in schools can identify cases of COVID-19. Samples can be sequenced to monitor for emerging and current variants of concern at the resolution of school catchments. Wastewater based monitoring for SARS-CoV-2 is a useful tool for SARS-CoV-2 passive surveillance and could be applied for case identification and containment, and mitigation in schools and other congregate settings with high risks of transmission. Wastewater monitoring enables public health authorities to develop targeted prevention and education programmes for hygiene measures within undertested communities across a broad range of use cases.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francis Hassard
- Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
- Institute for Nanotechnology and Water Sustainability, University of South Africa, Johannesburg, South Africa
| | - Milan Vu
- Department of Natural Science, School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
| | - Shadi Rahimzadeh
- Department of Natural Science, School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
| | - Victor Castro-Gutierrez
- Cranfield University, Bedfordshire, United Kingdom
- Environmental Pollution Research Centre (CICA), Universidad de Costa Rica, Montes de Oca, Costa Rica
| | - Isobel Stanton
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, United Kingdom
| | - Beata Burczynska
- Department of Natural Science, School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
| | - Dirk Wildeboer
- Department of Natural Science, School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
| | - Gianluca Baio
- Department of Statistical Science, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mathew R. Brown
- School of Engineering, Newcastle University, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, United Kingdom
- Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, UK Health Security Agency, London, United Kingdom
| | - Hemda Garelick
- Department of Natural Science, School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jan Hofman
- Water Innovation & Research Centre, Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern
- Water Innovation & Research Centre, Department of Chemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| | - Azeem Majeed
- Department of Primary Care & Public Health, Imperial College Faculty of Medicine, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sally Priest
- Department of Natural Science, School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
| | - Hubert Denise
- Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, UK Health Security Agency, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mohammad Khalifa
- Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, UK Health Security Agency, London, United Kingdom
| | - Irene Bassano
- Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, UK Health Security Agency, London, United Kingdom
| | - Matthew J. Wade
- Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, UK Health Security Agency, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jasmine Grimsley
- Environmental Monitoring for Health Protection, UK Health Security Agency, London, United Kingdom
| | - Lian Lundy
- Department of Natural Science, School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew C. Singer
- UK Centre for Ecology and Hydrology, Wallingford, United Kingdom
| | - Mariachiara Di Cesare
- Department of Natural Science, School of Science and Technology, Middlesex University, London, United Kingdom
- Institute of Public Health and Wellbeing, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom
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Kitakawa K, Kitamura K, Yoshida H. Monitoring Enteroviruses and SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater Using the Polio Environmental Surveillance System in Japan. Appl Environ Microbiol 2023; 89:e0185322. [PMID: 36975804 PMCID: PMC10132113 DOI: 10.1128/aem.01853-22] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/03/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
In the global strategy for polio eradication, environmental surveillance (ES) has been established worldwide to monitor polioviruses. In addition, nonpolio enteroviruses are simultaneously isolated from wastewater under this ES program. Hence, ES can be used to monitor enteroviruses in sewage to supplement clinical surveillance. In response to the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, we also monitored severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in sewage using the polio ES system in Japan. Enterovirus and SARS-CoV-2 were detected in sewage from January 2019 to December 2021 and from August 2020 to November 2021, respectively. Enterovirus species such as echoviruses and coxsackieviruses were frequently detected by ES in 2019, indicating the circulation of these viruses. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, sewage enterovirus detection and related patient reports were notably reduced in 2020 to 2021, suggesting changes in the hygiene behaviors of the human population in response to the pandemic. Our comparative experiment with a total of 520 reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR) assays for SARS-CoV-2 detection demonstrated that the solid-based method had a significantly higher detection rate than that of the liquid-based method (24.6% and 15.9%, respectively). Moreover, the resulting RNA concentrations were correlated with the number of new COVID-19 cases (Spearman's r = 0.61). These findings indicate that the existing polio ES system can be effectively used for enterovirus and SARS-CoV-2 sewage monitoring using different procedures such as virus isolation and molecular-based detection. IMPORTANCE Long-term efforts are required to implement surveillance programs for the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and they will be required even in the postpandemic era. We adopted the existing polio environmental surveillance (ES) system for SARS-CoV-2 sewage monitoring in Japan as a practical and cost-effective approach. Moreover, the ES system routinely detects enteroviruses from wastewater and, therefore, can be used for enterovirus monitoring. The liquid fraction of the sewage sample is used for poliovirus and enterovirus detection, and the solid fraction can be used for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection. The present study demonstrates how the existing ES system can be used for monitoring enteroviruses and SARS-CoV-2 in sewage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kazuhiro Kitakawa
- Department of Microbiology, Fukushima Prefectural Institute of Public Health, Fukushima, Japan
| | - Kouichi Kitamura
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hiromu Yoshida
- Department of Virology II, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Tokyo, Japan
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Iwamoto R, Yamaguchi K, Katayama K, Ando H, Setsukinai KI, Kobayashi H, Okabe S, Imoto S, Kitajima M. Identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater using targeted amplicon sequencing during a low COVID-19 prevalence period in Japan. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 887:163706. [PMID: 37105480 PMCID: PMC10129341 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.163706] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 04/18/2023] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology is expected to be able to identify SARS-CoV-2 variants at an early stage via next-generation sequencing. In the present study, we developed a highly sensitive amplicon sequencing method targeting the spike gene of SARS-CoV-2, which allows for sequencing viral genomes from wastewater containing a low amount of virus. Primers were designed to amplify a relatively long region (599 bp) around the receptor-binding domain in the SARS-CoV-2 spike gene, which could distinguish initial major variants of concern. To validate the methodology, we retrospectively analyzed wastewater samples collected from a septic tank installed in a COVID-19 quarantine facility between October and December 2020. The relative abundance of D614G mutant in SARS-CoV-2 genomes in the facility wastewater increased from 47.5 % to 83.1 % during the study period. The N501Y mutant, which is the characteristic mutation of the Alpha-like strain, was detected from wastewater collected on December 24, 2020, which agreed with the fact that a patient infected with the Alpha-like strain was quarantined in the facility on this date. We then analyzed archived municipal wastewater samples collected between November 2020 and January 2021 that contained low SARS-CoV-2 concentrations ranging from 0.23 to 0.43 copies/qPCR reaction (corresponding to 3.30 to 4.15 log10 copies/L). The targeted amplicon sequencing revealed that the Alpha-like variant with D614G and N501Y mutations was present in municipal wastewater collected on December 4, 2020 and later, suggesting that the variant had already spread in the community before its first clinical confirmation in Japan on December 25, 2020. These results demonstrate that targeted amplicon sequencing of wastewater samples is a powerful surveillance tool applicable to low COVID-19 prevalence periods and may contribute to the early detection of emerging variants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryo Iwamoto
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., 1-8, Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan; AdvanSentinel Inc., 1-8, Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Kiyoshi Yamaguchi
- Division of Clinical Genome Research, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Kotoe Katayama
- Human Genome Center, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Hiroki Ando
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Ken-Ichi Setsukinai
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., 1-8, Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Kobayashi
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., 1-8, Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Satoshi Okabe
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Seiya Imoto
- Human Genome Center, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Masaaki Kitajima
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan.
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Popov H, Stoyanov GS, Petkova L. Modified Banff Criteria in Assessing SARS-CoV-2-Associated Renal Pathology: An Autopsy Study. Cureus 2023; 15:e37260. [PMID: 37168215 PMCID: PMC10166572 DOI: 10.7759/cureus.37260] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/07/2023] [Indexed: 05/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction SARS-CoV-2 is an epitheliotropic viral agent with epithelial tropism. Although the clinical significance and severity of affection is the most pronounced in the respiratory system, other organs and systems are also infected and, hence affected, such as the central nervous system, gastrointestinal tract, cardiovascular, and urinary systems. Herein, we set out to evaluate the presence and degree of morphological changes within the renal parenchyma and its relation to disease outcome. Materials and methods A retrospective non-clinical approach was utilized for the means of the study. All patients with real-time reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction proven infection, subject to an autopsy performed in a period of two calendar years, were included in the study. Kidney tissue histopathology samples were analyzed using a modified Banff criteria system for acute onset and chronic changes. The results were compared for statistical significance with overall patient survival from symptom onset to death. Furthermore, SARS-CoV-2 viral presence was evaluated in renal structures by means of immunohistochemistry. Results A total of 40 patients were included in the study. Immunohistochemistry showed viral presence within a myriad of renal structured - endothelial cells, tubular cells, and podocytes. Modified Banff criteria showed significant acute changes within the parenchyma, including endotheliitis, glomerulitis, mesangial matrix expansion, tubulitis, capillaritis, arteritis, thrombosis (including thrombotic microangiopathy in four patients), and hemorrhages. Individual cases also presented with signs of rhabdomyolysis - myoglobulin casts. Signs of chronic injury were also present in most patients. However, when calculated as scores, neither acute nor chronic changes showed a correlation with time from symptom onset to death. Conclusion The results of the present study show both viral presence and a myriad of induced changes in the contents of SARS-CoV-2 infection within the renal parenchyma. The lack of correlation with the degree of changes, when compared to survival, is an encouraging fact that the changes are unlikely to play a role in direct tanatogenesis while having the potential to manifest as chronic kidney disease in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hristo Popov
- General and Clinical Pathology, Forensic Medicine and Deontology, Medical University of Varna, Varna, BGR
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Wang Z, Dai Y, Zhou X, Liu Z, Liu W, Huang L, Yuan M, Cui S, He X. Fabrication of flexible AuNPs@ polyimide heating chips for in situ explosives SERS sensing in nature samples. Talanta 2023; 258:124460. [PMID: 36958100 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2023.124460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 03/06/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/25/2023]
Abstract
In this study, highly sensitive flexible AuNPs@ polyimide SERS heating chips (APHC) were fabricated for in situ collecting and detecting TNT. Large-scale AuNPs arrays were synthesized by liquid-liquid interface self-assembly and transferred to polyimide heating film as SERS substrates. 4-ATP and AgNPs functionalized on APHC were used as capture means and signal amplifiers, combining with TNT to form the AuNPs-TNT-AgNPs "sandwich" structure. This flexible APHC chip showed high sensitivity as enhancement factor was 5.5×105, and good repeatability and stability (RSD<10%). It was applied to detect TNT solutions with a low concentration of 10-9 M, and showed a good linear response in the range from 10-5 to 10-9 M (R2 = 0.986). In addition, the detection method also had good selectivity and no response to various TNT analogs. More important, combing with the thermal enrichment strategy, TNT dispersed in environmental samples such as soil, fruit and clothing would be enriched as vapor then collected and detected by APHC. This APHC device shows great potential for in situ sensing platforms, due to its sensitivity, high efficiency, and excellent portability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zihan Wang
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, 621900, China; State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Material Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Inorganic Function Composites, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China
| | - Yu Dai
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, 621900, China
| | - Xin Zhou
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, 621900, China
| | - ZhongPing Liu
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, 621900, China
| | - Wei Liu
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, 621900, China; State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Material Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Inorganic Function Composites, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China
| | - Longjin Huang
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, 621900, China; State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Material Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Inorganic Function Composites, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China
| | - Meiyu Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Material Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Inorganic Function Composites, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China
| | - Sheng Cui
- State Key Laboratory of Materials-Oriented Chemical Engineering, College of Material Science and Engineering, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China; Jiangsu Collaborative Innovation Center for Advanced Inorganic Function Composites, Nanjing Tech University, Nanjing, 211816, China
| | - Xuan He
- Institute of Chemical Materials, China Academy of Engineering Physics, Mianyang, 621900, China.
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Ando H, Murakami M, Ahmed W, Iwamoto R, Okabe S, Kitajima M. Wastewater-based prediction of COVID-19 cases using a highly sensitive SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection method combined with mathematical modeling. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2023; 173:107743. [PMID: 36867995 PMCID: PMC9824953 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.107743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 21.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Revised: 01/06/2023] [Accepted: 01/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has the potential to predict COVID-19 cases; however, reliable methods for tracking SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations (CRNA) in wastewater are lacking. In the present study, we developed a highly sensitive method (EPISENS-M) employing adsorption-extraction, followed by one-step RT-Preamp and qPCR. The EPISENS-M allowed SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection from wastewater at 50 % detection rate when newly reported COVID-19 cases exceed 0.69/100,000 inhabitants in a sewer catchment. Using the EPISENS-M, a longitudinal WBE study was conducted between 28 May 2020 and 16 June 2022 in Sapporo City, Japan, revealing a strong correlation (Pearson's r = 0.94) between CRNA and the newly COVID-19 cases reported by intensive clinical surveillance. Based on this dataset, a mathematical model was developed based on viral shedding dynamics to estimate the newly reported cases using CRNA data and recent clinical data prior to sampling day. This developed model succeeded in predicting the cumulative number of newly reported cases after 5 days of sampling day within a factor of √2 and 2 with a precision of 36 % (16/44) and 64 % (28/44), respectively. By applying this model framework, another estimation mode was developed without the recent clinical data, which successfully predicted the number of COVID-19 cases for the succeeding 5 days within a factor of √2 and 2 with a precision of 39 % (17/44) and 66 % (29/44), respectively. These results demonstrated that the EPISENS-M method combined with the mathematical model can be a powerful tool for predicting COVID-19 cases, especially in the absence of intensive clinical surveillance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroki Ando
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Michio Murakami
- Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research, Osaka University, 2-8 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Warish Ahmed
- CSIRO Environment, Ecosciences Precinct, 41 Boggo Road, QLD 4102, Australia
| | - Ryo Iwamoto
- Shionogi & Co. Ltd, 1-8, Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka 541-0045, Japan; AdvanSentinel Inc, 1-8 Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Satoshi Okabe
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Masaaki Kitajima
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan.
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Adachi Katayama Y, Hayase S, Ando Y, Kuroita T, Okada K, Iwamoto R, Yanagimoto T, Kitajima M, Masago Y. COPMAN: A novel high-throughput and highly sensitive method to detect viral nucleic acids including SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2023; 856:158966. [PMID: 36162583 PMCID: PMC9502438 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158966] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/24/2022] [Revised: 09/16/2022] [Accepted: 09/19/2022] [Indexed: 05/15/2023]
Abstract
During the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) attracted attention as an objective and comprehensive indicator of community infection that does not require individual inspection. Although several severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) detection methods from wastewater have been developed, there are obstacles to their social implementation. In this study, we developed the COPMAN (Coagulation and Proteolysis method using Magnetic beads for detection of Nucleic acids in wastewater), an automatable method that can concentrate and detect multiple types of viruses from a limited volume (∼10 mL) of wastewater. The COPMAN consists of a high basicity polyaluminum chloride (PAC) coagulation process, magnetic bead-based RNA purification, and RT-preamplification, followed by qPCR. A series of enzymes exhibiting a high tolerance to PCR inhibitors derived from wastewater was identified and employed in the molecular detection steps in the COPMAN. We compared the detectability of viral RNA from 10-mL samples of virus-spiked (heat-inactivated SARS-CoV-2 and intact RSV) or unspiked wastewater by the COPMAN and other methods (PEG-qPCR, UF-qPCR, and EPISENS-S). The COPMAN was the most efficient for detecting spiked viruses from wastewater, detecting the highest level of pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), a typical intrinsic virus in human stool, from wastewater samples. The COPMAN also successfully detected indigenous SARS-CoV-2 RNA from 12 samples of wastewater at concentrations of 2.2 × 104 to 5.4 × 105 copies/L, during initial stages of an infection wave in the right and the left bank of the Sagami River in Japan (0.65 to 11.45 daily reported cases per 100,000 people). These results indicate that the COPMAN is suitable for detection of multiple pathogens from small volume of wastewater in automated stations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuka Adachi Katayama
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Pharmaceutical Research Center, 1-1, Futaba-cho 3-chome, Toyonaka, Osaka 561-0825, Japan
| | - Shin Hayase
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Pharmaceutical Research Center, 1-1, Futaba-cho 3-chome, Toyonaka, Osaka 561-0825, Japan
| | - Yoshinori Ando
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Pharmaceutical Research Center, 1-1, Futaba-cho 3-chome, Toyonaka, Osaka 561-0825, Japan
| | - Tomohiro Kuroita
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Pharmaceutical Research Center, 1-1, Futaba-cho 3-chome, Toyonaka, Osaka 561-0825, Japan; AdvanSentinel Inc., 3-1-8 Doshomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Kazuya Okada
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Head Office, 3-1-8 Doshomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Ryo Iwamoto
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Head Office, 3-1-8 Doshomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan; AdvanSentinel Inc., 3-1-8 Doshomachi, Chuo-ku, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Toru Yanagimoto
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Pharmaceutical Research Center, 1-1, Futaba-cho 3-chome, Toyonaka, Osaka 561-0825, Japan
| | - Masaaki Kitajima
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Yusaku Masago
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., Pharmaceutical Research Center, 1-1, Futaba-cho 3-chome, Toyonaka, Osaka 561-0825, Japan.
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Zhang M, King MD. Temporal Variation of SARS-CoV-2 Levels in Wastewater from a Meat Processing Plant. Microorganisms 2023; 11:174. [PMID: 36677465 PMCID: PMC9864470 DOI: 10.3390/microorganisms11010174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2022] [Revised: 01/04/2023] [Accepted: 01/07/2023] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) on SARS-CoV-2 has been proved to be an effective approach to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 in communities and cities. However, its application was overlooked at smaller scale, such as a single facility. Meat processing plants are hotspots for COVID-19 outbreaks due to their unique environment that are favorable for the survival and persistence of SARS-CoV-2. This is the first known WBS study in meat processing plants. The goal was to understand the temporal variation of the SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater from a meat processing plant in Canada during a three-month campaign and to find any correlation with clinically confirmed cases in the surrounding city area. Higher SARS-CoV-2 concentrations and detection frequencies were observed in the solid fraction compared to the liquid fraction of the wastewater. The viruses can be preserved in the solid fraction of wastewater for up to 12 days. The wastewater virus level did not correlate to the city-wide COVID-19 cases due to the unmatching scales. WBS on SARS-CoV-2 in meat processing plants can be useful for identifying COVID-19 outbreaks in the facility and serve as an effective alternative when resources for routine individual testing are not available.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Maria D. King
- Aerosol Technology Laboratory, Biological & Agricultural Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA
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Li X, Zhang S, Sherchan S, Orive G, Lertxundi U, Haramoto E, Honda R, Kumar M, Arora S, Kitajima M, Jiang G. Correlation between SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration in wastewater and COVID-19 cases in community: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2023; 441:129848. [PMID: 36067562 PMCID: PMC9420035 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129848] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 43.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Revised: 08/22/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been considered as a promising approach for population-wide surveillance of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Many studies have successfully quantified severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA concentration in wastewater (CRNA). However, the correlation between the CRNA and the COVID-19 clinically confirmed cases in the corresponding wastewater catchments varies and the impacts of environmental and other factors remain unclear. A systematic review and meta-analysis were conducted to identify the correlation between CRNA and various types of clinically confirmed case numbers, including prevalence and incidence rates. The impacts of environmental factors, WBE sampling design, and epidemiological conditions on the correlation were assessed for the same datasets. The systematic review identified 133 correlation coefficients, ranging from -0.38 to 0.99. The correlation between CRNA and new cases (either daily new, weekly new, or future cases) was stronger than that of active cases and cumulative cases. These correlation coefficients were potentially affected by environmental and epidemiological conditions and WBE sampling design. Larger variations of air temperature and clinical testing coverage, and the increase of catchment size showed strong negative impacts on the correlation between CRNA and COVID-19 case numbers. Interestingly, the sampling technique had negligible impact although increasing the sampling frequency improved the correlation. These findings highlight the importance of viral shedding dynamics, in-sewer decay, WBE sampling design and clinical testing on the accurate back-estimation of COVID-19 case numbers through the WBE approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuan Li
- School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia; Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia
| | - Shuxin Zhang
- School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia
| | - Samendrdra Sherchan
- Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70112, USA
| | - Gorka Orive
- NanoBioCel Group, Laboratory of Pharmaceutics, School of Pharmacy, University of the Basque Country UPV/EHU, Paseo de la Universidad 7, Vitoria-Gasteiz 01006, Spain; Biomedical Research Networking Centre in Bioengineering, Biomaterials and Nanomedicine (CIBER-BBN), Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
| | - Unax Lertxundi
- Bioaraba Health Research Institute; Osakidetza Basque Health Service, Araba Mental Health Network, Araba Psychiatric Hospital, Pharmacy Service, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Spain
| | - Eiji Haramoto
- Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, Kofu, Japan
| | - Ryo Honda
- Faculty of Geosciences and Civil Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Manish Kumar
- Sustainability Cluster, School of Engineering, University of Petroleum and Energy Studies, Dehradun, Uttarakhand, India
| | - Sudipti Arora
- Dr. B. Lal Institute of Biotechnology, Jaipur, India
| | - Masaaki Kitajima
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, Hokkaido, Japan
| | - Guangming Jiang
- School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia; Illawarra Health and Medical Research Institute (IHMRI), University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia.
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Zahmatkesh S, Rezakhani Y, Chofreh AG, Karimian M, Wang C, Ghodrati I, Hasan M, Sillanpaa M, Panchal H, Khan R. SARS-CoV-2 removal by mix matrix membrane: A novel application of artificial neural network based simulation in MATLAB for evaluating wastewater reuse risks. CHEMOSPHERE 2023; 310:136837. [PMID: 36252897 PMCID: PMC9560862 DOI: 10.1016/j.chemosphere.2022.136837] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/27/2022] [Revised: 09/20/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
The COVID-19 outbreak led to the discovery of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage; thus, wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) could have the virus in their effluent. However, whether SARS-CoV-2 is eradicated by sewage treatment is virtually unknown. Specifically, the objectives of this study include (i) determining whether a mixed matrixed membrane (MMM) is able to remove SARS-CoV-2 (polycarbonate (PC)-hydrous manganese oxide (HMO) and PC-silver nanoparticles (Ag-NP)), (ii) comparing filtration performance among different secondary treatment processes, and (iii) evaluating whether artificial neural networks (ANNs) can be employed as performance indicators to reduce SARS-CoV-2 in the treatment of sewage. At Shariati Hospital in Mashhad, Iran, secondary treatment effluent during the outbreak of COVID-19 was collected from a WWTP. There were two PC-Ag-NP and PC-HMO processes at the WWTP targeted. RT-qPCR was employed to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage fractions. For the purposes of determining SARS-CoV-2 prevalence rates in the treated effluent, 10 L of effluent specimens were collected in middle-risk and low-risk treatment MMMs. For PC-HMO, the log reduction value (LRV) for SARS-CoV-2 was 1.3-1 log10 for moderate risk and 0.96-1 log10 for low risk, whereas for PC-Ag-NP, the LRV was 0.99-1.3 log10 for moderate risk and 0.94-0.98 log10 for low risk. MMMs demonstrated the most robust absorption performance during the sampling period, with the least significant LRV recorded in PC-Ag-NP and PC-HMO at 0.94 log10 and 0.96 log10, respectively.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sasan Zahmatkesh
- Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of Mazandaran, P.O. Box 48518-78195, Behshahr, Iran; Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Ingenieríay Ciencias, Puebla, Mexico.
| | - Yousof Rezakhani
- Department of Civil Engineering, Pardis Branch, Islamic Azad University, Pardis, Iran
| | - Abdoulmohammad Gholamzadeh Chofreh
- Sustainable Process Integration Laboratory, SPIL, NETME Centre, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Brno University of Technology, VUT Brno, Technická 2896/2, 616 00, Brno, Czech Republic
| | - Melika Karimian
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Urban Planning, University of Eyvanekey, Iran
| | - Chongqing Wang
- School of Chemical Engineering, Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, 450001, China
| | - Iman Ghodrati
- Department of Computer Engineering, Bojnourd Branch, Islamic Azad University, Bojnourd, Iran
| | - Mudassir Hasan
- Department of Chemical Engineering, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha, 61411, Saudi Arabia
| | - Mika Sillanpaa
- Faculty of Science and Technology, School of Applied Physics, University Kebangsaan Malaysia, 43600, Bangi, Selangor, Malaysia; International Research Centre of Nanotechnology for Himalayan Sustainability (IRCNHS), Shoolini University, Solan, 173212, Himachal Pradesh, India; Department of Chemical Engineering, School of Mining, Metallurgy and Chemical Engineering, University of Johannesburg, P. O. Box 17011, Doornfontein, 2028, South Africa
| | - Hitesh Panchal
- Mechanical Engineering Department, Government Engineering College, Patan, Gujarat, India
| | - Ramsha Khan
- Faculty of Civil Engineering, Institute of Technology, Shri Ramswaroop Memorial University, Barabanki, 225003, UP, India
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Wang R, Alamin M, Tsuji S, Hara-Yamamura H, Hata A, Zhao B, Ihara M, Honda R. Removal performance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater treatment by membrane bioreactor, anaerobic-anoxic-oxic, and conventional activated sludge processes. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 851:158310. [PMID: 36030862 PMCID: PMC9411102 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.158310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/22/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The potential risk of SARS-CoV-2 in treated effluent from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) is concerned since SARS-CoV-2 is contained in wastewater during the COVID-19 outbreak. However, the removal of SARS-CoV-2 in WWTP has not been well investigated. The objectives of this study were (i) to clarify the removal performance of SARS-CoV-2 during wastewater treatment, (ii) to compare the removal performance of different secondary treatment processes, and (iii) to evaluate applicability of pepper mild mottle of virus (PMMoV) as a performance indicator for the reduction of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater treatment. Influent wastewater, secondary-treatment effluent (before chlorination), and final effluent (after chlorination) samples were collected from a WWTP from May 28 to September 24, 2020, during the COVID-19 outbreak in Japan. The target WWTP had three parallel treatment systems employing conventional activated sludge (CAS), anaerobic-anoxic -oxic (A2O), and membrane bioreactor (MBR) processes. SARS-CoV-2 in both the liquid and solid fractions of the influent wastewater was concentrated and quantified using RT-qPCR. SARS-CoV-2 in treated effluent was concentrated from 10 L samples to achieve a detection limit as low as 10 copies/L. The log reduction value (LRV) of SARS-CoV-2 was 2.7 ± 0.86 log10 in CAS, 1.6 ± 0.50 log10 in A2O, and 3.6 ± 0.62 log10 in MBR. The lowest LRV observed during the sampling period was 2.8 log10 in MBR, 1.2 log10 in CAS, and 1.0 log10 in A2O process, indicating that the MBR had the most stable reduction performance. PMMoV was found to be a good indicator virus to evaluate reduction performance of SARS-CoV-2 independent of the process configuration because the LRV of PMMoV was significantly lower than that of SARS-CoV-2 in the CAS, A2O and MBR processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongxuan Wang
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Md Alamin
- Graduate School of Natural Science and Technology, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Shohei Tsuji
- Faculty of Geosciences and Civil Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Hiroe Hara-Yamamura
- Faculty of Geosciences and Civil Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan
| | - Akihiko Hata
- Department of Environmental and Civil Engineering, Toyama Prefectural University, Imizu, Japan
| | - Bo Zhao
- Key Laboratory of Integrated Regulation and Resource Development of Shallow Lakes of Ministry of Education, College of Environment, Hohai University, Nanjing, PR China; Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Otsu, Japan
| | - Masaru Ihara
- Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Otsu, Japan; Faculty of Agriculture and Marine Science, Kochi University, Nankoku, Japan
| | - Ryo Honda
- Faculty of Geosciences and Civil Engineering, Kanazawa University, Kanazawa, Japan; Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Otsu, Japan.
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Bonanno Ferraro G, Veneri C, Mancini P, Iaconelli M, Suffredini E, Bonadonna L, Lucentini L, Bowo-Ngandji A, Kengne-Nde C, Mbaga DS, Mahamat G, Tazokong HR, Ebogo-Belobo JT, Njouom R, Kenmoe S, La Rosa G. A State-of-the-Art Scoping Review on SARS-CoV-2 in Sewage Focusing on the Potential of Wastewater Surveillance for the Monitoring of the COVID-19 Pandemic. FOOD AND ENVIRONMENTAL VIROLOGY 2022; 14:315-354. [PMID: 34727334 PMCID: PMC8561373 DOI: 10.1007/s12560-021-09498-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 22.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2021] [Accepted: 09/21/2021] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
The outbreak of coronavirus infectious disease-2019 (COVID-19), caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has rapidly spread throughout the world. Several studies have shown that detecting SARS-CoV-2 in untreated wastewater can be a useful tool to identify new outbreaks, establish outbreak trends, and assess the prevalence of infections. On 06 May 2021, over a year into the pandemic, we conducted a scoping review aiming to summarize research data on SARS-CoV-2 in sewage. Papers dealing with raw sewage collected at wastewater treatment plants, sewer networks, septic tanks, and sludge treatment facilities were included in this review. We also reviewed studies on sewage collected in community settings such as private or municipal hospitals, healthcare facilities, nursing homes, dormitories, campuses, airports, aircraft, and cruise ships. The literature search was conducted using the electronic databases PubMed, EMBASE, and Web Science Core Collection. This comprehensive research yielded 1090 results, 66 of which met the inclusion criteria and are discussed in this review. Studies from 26 countries worldwide have investigated the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage of different origin. The percentage of positive samples in sewage ranged from 11.6 to 100%, with viral concentrations ranging from ˂LOD to 4.6 × 108 genome copies/L. This review outlines the evidence currently available on wastewater surveillance: (i) as an early warning system capable of predicting COVID-19 outbreaks days or weeks before clinical cases; (ii) as a tool capable of establishing trends in current outbreaks; (iii) estimating the prevalence of infections; and (iv) studying SARS-CoV-2 genetic diversity. In conclusion, as a cost-effective, rapid, and reliable source of information on the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in the population, wastewater surveillance can enhance genomic and epidemiological surveillance with independent and complementary data to inform public health decision-making during the ongoing pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Bonanno Ferraro
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | | | - P Mancini
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - M Iaconelli
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - E Suffredini
- Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - L Bonadonna
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - L Lucentini
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy
| | - A Bowo-Ngandji
- Department of Microbiology, The University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon
| | - C Kengne-Nde
- Research Monitoring and Planning Unit, National Aids Control Committee, Douala, Cameroon
| | - D S Mbaga
- Department of Microbiology, The University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon
| | - G Mahamat
- Department of Microbiology, The University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon
| | - H R Tazokong
- Department of Microbiology, The University of Yaounde I, Yaounde, Cameroon
| | - J T Ebogo-Belobo
- Medical Research Centre, Institute of Medical Research and Medicinal Plants Studies, Yaounde, Cameroon
| | - R Njouom
- Virology Department, Centre Pasteur of Cameroon, Yaounde, Cameroon
| | - S Kenmoe
- Virology Department, Centre Pasteur of Cameroon, Yaounde, Cameroon
| | - G La Rosa
- Department of Environment and Health, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy.
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44
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Iwamoto R, Yamaguchi K, Arakawa C, Ando H, Haramoto E, Setsukinai KI, Katayama K, Yamagishi T, Sorano S, Murakami M, Kyuwa S, Kobayashi H, Okabe S, Imoto S, Kitajima M. The detectability and removal efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 in a large-scale septic tank of a COVID-19 quarantine facility in Japan. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 849:157869. [PMID: 35944642 PMCID: PMC9356757 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157869] [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: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 08/01/2022] [Accepted: 08/02/2022] [Indexed: 05/09/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is known to be present in sewage, and wastewater-based epidemiology has attracted much attention. However, the physical partitioning of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and the removal efficiency of treatment systems require further investigation. This study aimed to investigate the detectability and physical partitioning of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and assess its removal in a large-scale septic tank employing anaerobic, anoxic, and oxic processes in a sequential batch reactor, which was installed in a coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) quarantine facility. The amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater was determined with polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation followed by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR), and the association of SARS-CoV-2 with wastewater solids was evaluated by the effect of filtration prior to PEG precipitation (pre-filtration). The amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detected from pre-filtered samples was substantially lower than that of samples without pre-filtration. These results suggest that most SARS-CoV-2 particles in wastewater are associated with the suspended solids excluded by pre-filtration. The removal efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 in the septic tank was evaluated based on the SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in untreated and treated wastewater, which was determined by the detection method optimized in this study. Escherichia coli and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) were also quantified to validate the wastewater treatment system's performance. The mean log10 reduction values of SARS-CoV-2, E. coli, and PMMoV were 2.47 (range, 2.25-2.68), 2.81 (range, 2.45-3.18), and 0.66 (range, 0.61-0.70), respectively, demonstrating that SARS-CoV-2 removal by the wastewater treatment system was comparable to or better than the removal of fecal indicators. These results suggest that SARS-CoV-2 can be readily removed by the septic tank. This is the first study to determine the removal efficiency of SARS-CoV-2 in a facility-level sequencing batch activated sludge system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryo Iwamoto
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., 1-8 Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka 541-0045, Japan; AdvanSentinel Inc., 1-8 Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Kiyoshi Yamaguchi
- Division of Clinical Genome Research, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Chisato Arakawa
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Hiroki Ando
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Eiji Haramoto
- Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, Graduate Faculty of Interdisciplinary Research, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Ken-Ichi Setsukinai
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., 1-8 Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Kotoe Katayama
- Human Genome Center, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Takuya Yamagishi
- Antimicrobial Resistance Research Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, 1-23-1 Toyama, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo 162-8640, Japan
| | - Sumire Sorano
- Department of Disease Control, Faculty of Infectious and Tropical Disease, The London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Keppel St., London WC1E 7HT, UK; School of Tropical Medicine and Global Health, Nagasaki University, 1-14 Bunkyomachi, Nagasaki, Nagasaki 852-8521, Japan
| | - Michio Murakami
- Center for Infectious Disease Education and Research, Osaka University, 2-8 Yamadaoka, Suita, Osaka 565-0871, Japan
| | - Shigeru Kyuwa
- Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Kobayashi
- Shionogi & Co., Ltd., 1-8 Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Satoshi Okabe
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Seiya Imoto
- Human Genome Center, The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo, 4-6-1 Shirokanedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo 108-8639, Japan
| | - Masaaki Kitajima
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan.
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45
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Angga MS, Malla B, Raya S, Kitano A, Xie X, Saitoh H, Ohnishi N, Haramoto E. Development of a magnetic nanoparticle-based method for concentrating SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 848:157613. [PMID: 35901898 PMCID: PMC9310541 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/29/2022] [Revised: 07/20/2022] [Accepted: 07/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Several virus concentration methods have been developed to increase the detection sensitivity of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater, as part of applying wastewater-based epidemiology. Polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation method, a method widely used for concentrating viruses in wastewater, has some limitations, such as long processing time. In this study, Pegcision, a PEG-based method using magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs), was applied to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, with several modifications to increase its sensitivity and throughput. An enveloped virus surrogate, Pseudomonas phage φ6, and a non-enveloped virus surrogate, coliphage MS2, were seeded into wastewater samples and quantified using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction to assess the recovery performance of the Pegcision. Neither increasing MNP concentration nor reducing the reaction time to 10 min affected the recovery, while adding polyacrylic acid as a polyanion improved the detection sensitivity. The performance of the Pegcision was further compared to that of the PEG precipitation method based on the detection of SARS-CoV-2 and surrogate viruses, including indigenous pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), in wastewater samples (n = 27). The Pegcision showed recovery of 14.1 ± 6.3 % and 1.4 ± 1.0 % for φ6 and MS2, respectively, while the PEG precipitation method showed recovery of 20.4 ± 20.2 % and 18.4 ± 21.9 % (n = 27 each). Additionally, comparable PMMoV concentrations were observed between the Pegcision (7.9 ± 0.3 log copies/L) and PEG precipitation methods (8.0 ± 0.2 log copies/L) (P > 0.05) (n = 27). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was successfully detected in 11 (41 %) each of 27 wastewater samples using the Pegcision and PEG precipitation methods. The Pegcision showed comparable performance with the PEG precipitation method for SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration, suggesting its applicability as a virus concentration method.
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Affiliation(s)
- Made Sandhyana Angga
- Department of Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, 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
| | - Sunayana Raya
- Department of Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Ayame Kitano
- Yokohama R&D Center, JNC Corporation, 5-1 Okawa, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-8605, Japan.
| | - Xiaomao Xie
- Yokohama R&D Center, JNC Corporation, 5-1 Okawa, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-8605, Japan.
| | - Hiroshi Saitoh
- Yokohama R&D Center, JNC Corporation, 5-1 Okawa, Kanazawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 236-8605, Japan.
| | - Noriyuki Ohnishi
- Corporate Research and Development Division, JNC Corporation, 5-1 Goikaigan, Ichihara, Chiba 290-8551, Japan.
| | - Eiji Haramoto
- Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan.
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46
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Zhan Q, Babler KM, Sharkey ME, Amirali A, Beaver CC, Boone MM, Comerford S, Cooper D, Cortizas EM, Currall BB, Foox J, Grills GS, Kobetz E, Kumar N, Laine J, Lamar WE, Mantero AM, Mason CE, Reding BD, Robertson M, Roca MA, Ryon K, Schürer SC, Shukla BS, Solle NS, Stevenson M, Tallon Jr JJ, Thomas C, Thomas T, Vidović D, Williams SL, Yin X, Solo-Gabriele HM. Relationships between SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater and COVID-19 Clinical Cases and Hospitalizations, with and without Normalization against Indicators of Human Waste. ACS ES&T WATER 2022; 2:1992-2003. [PMID: 36398131 PMCID: PMC9664448 DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater has been used to track community infections of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), providing critical information for public health interventions. Since levels in wastewater are dependent upon human inputs, we hypothesize that tracking infections can be improved by normalizing wastewater concentrations against indicators of human waste [Pepper Mild Mottle Virus (PMMoV), β-2 Microglobulin (B2M), and fecal coliform]. In this study, we analyzed SARS-CoV-2 and indicators of human waste in wastewater from two sewersheds of different scales: a University campus and a wastewater treatment plant. Wastewater data were combined with complementary COVID-19 case tracking to evaluate the efficiency of wastewater surveillance for forecasting new COVID-19 cases and, for the larger scale, hospitalizations. Results show that the normalization of SARS-CoV-2 levels by PMMoV and B2M resulted in improved correlations with COVID-19 cases for campus data using volcano second generation (V2G)-qPCR chemistry (r s = 0.69 without normalization, r s = 0.73 with normalization). Mixed results were obtained for normalization by PMMoV for samples collected at the community scale. Overall benefits from normalizing with measures of human waste depend upon qPCR chemistry and improves with smaller sewershed scale. We recommend further studies that evaluate the efficacy of additional normalization targets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingyu Zhan
- Department
of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Kristina M. Babler
- Department
of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Mark E. Sharkey
- Department
of Medicine, University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Ayaaz Amirali
- Department
of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Cynthia C. Beaver
- Sylvester
Comprehensive Cancer Center, University
of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Melinda M. Boone
- Sylvester
Comprehensive Cancer Center, University
of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Samuel Comerford
- Department
of Medicine, University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Daniel Cooper
- DataGrade
Solutions, LLC, Miami, Florida 33173, United
States
| | - Elena M. Cortizas
- Sylvester
Comprehensive Cancer Center, University
of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Benjamin B. Currall
- Sylvester
Comprehensive Cancer Center, University
of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Jonathan Foox
- Department
of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell
Medical College, New York
City, New York 10021, United States
| | - George S. Grills
- Sylvester
Comprehensive Cancer Center, University
of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Erin Kobetz
- Department
of Medicine, University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
- Sylvester
Comprehensive Cancer Center, University
of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Naresh Kumar
- Department
of Public Health Sciences, University of
Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Jennifer Laine
- Environmental
Health and Safety, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Walter E. Lamar
- Facilities
Safety & Compliance, University of Miami
Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Alejandro M.A. Mantero
- Department
of Public Health Sciences, University of
Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Christopher E. Mason
- Department
of Physiology and Biophysics and the WorldQuant Initiative for Quantitative
Prediction, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York City, New York 10021, United States
| | - Brian D. Reding
- Environmental
Health and Safety, University of Miami, Miami, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Maria Robertson
- Department
of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Matthew A. Roca
- Department
of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Krista Ryon
- Department
of Physiology and Biophysics, Weill Cornell
Medical College, New York
City, New York 10021, United States
| | - Stephan C. Schürer
- Sylvester
Comprehensive Cancer Center, University
of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
- Department
of Molecular & Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicines, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
- Institute
for Data Science & Computing, University
of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United
States
| | - Bhavarth S. Shukla
- Department
of Medicine, University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Natasha Schaefer Solle
- Department
of Medicine, University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
- Sylvester
Comprehensive Cancer Center, University
of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Mario Stevenson
- Department
of Medicine, University of Miami Miller
School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - John J. Tallon Jr
- Facilities
and Operations, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Collette Thomas
- Department
of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Tori Thomas
- Department
of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Dušica Vidović
- Department
of Molecular & Cellular Pharmacology, University of Miami Miller School of Medicines, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Sion L. Williams
- Sylvester
Comprehensive Cancer Center, University
of Miami Miller School of Medicine, Miami, Florida 33136, United States
| | - Xue Yin
- Department
of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
| | - Helena M. Solo-Gabriele
- Department
of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Florida 33146, United States
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47
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Brian I, Manuzzi A, Dalla Rovere G, Giussani E, Palumbo E, Fusaro A, Bonfante F, Bortolami A, Quaranta EG, Monne I, Patarnello T, Bargelloni L, Terregino C, Holmes EC, Todesco G, Sorrentino F, Berton A, Badetti C, Carrer C, Ferrari G, Zincone C, Milan M, Panzarin V. Molecular Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in Different Sewage Plants in Venice and the Implications for Genetic Surveillance. ACS ES&T WATER 2022; 2:1953-1963. [PMID: 37552713 PMCID: PMC9115883 DOI: 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00013] [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: 01/12/2022] [Revised: 04/08/2022] [Accepted: 04/11/2022] [Indexed: 05/20/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology is now widely used as an indirect tool to monitor the spread of SARS-CoV-2. In this study, five different sample matrices representing diverse phases of the wastewater treatment process were collected during the second wave of SARS-CoV-2 from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serving the Civil Hospital and Sacca Fisola island in Venice, Italy. Positive SARS-CoV-2 detections occurred at both WWTPs, and data on viral genome detection rate and quantification suggest that the pellet (i.e., the particulate resulting from the influent) is a sensitive matrix that permits reliable assessment of infection prevalence while reducing time to results. On the contrary, analysis of post-treatment matrices provides evidence of the decontamination efficacy of both WWTPs. Finally, direct sequencing of wastewater samples enabled us to identify B.1.177 and B.1.160 as the prevalent SARS-CoV-2 lineages circulating in Venice at the time of sampling. This study confirmed the suitability of wastewater testing for studying SARS-CoV-2 circulation and established a simplified workflow for the prompt detection and characterization of the virus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Brian
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Sciences,
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale
dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Alice Manuzzi
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food
Science, University of Padova, Viale
dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Giulia Dalla Rovere
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food
Science, University of Padova, Viale
dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Edoardo Giussani
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Sciences,
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale
dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Elisa Palumbo
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Sciences,
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale
dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Alice Fusaro
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Sciences,
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale
dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Francesco Bonfante
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Sciences,
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale
dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Alessio Bortolami
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Sciences,
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale
dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Erika Giorgia Quaranta
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Sciences,
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale
dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Isabella Monne
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Sciences,
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale
dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Tomaso Patarnello
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food
Science, University of Padova, Viale
dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Luca Bargelloni
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food
Science, University of Padova, Viale
dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Calogero Terregino
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Sciences,
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale
dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Edward C. Holmes
- Sydney Institute for Infectious Diseases, School of Life
and Environmental Sciences and School of Medical Sciences, University of
Sydney, Sydney 2006, Australia
| | | | - Francesco Sorrentino
- Provveditorato interregionale per il
Veneto, Trentino AA, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Ponte di Rialto, 19, Venezia,
30125, Italy
| | | | | | | | | | - Cinzia Zincone
- Provveditorato interregionale per il
Veneto, Trentino AA, Friuli Venezia Giulia, Ponte di Rialto, 19, Venezia,
30125, Italy
| | - Massimo Milan
- Department of Comparative Biomedicine and Food
Science, University of Padova, Viale
dell’Università 16, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
| | - Valentina Panzarin
- Division of Comparative Biomedical Sciences,
Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale delle Venezie, Viale
dell’Università 10, 35020 Legnaro, Padova, Italy
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48
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Label-free and portable field-effect sensor for monitoring RT-LAMP products to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. Talanta 2022. [PMCID: PMC9637047 DOI: 10.1016/j.talanta.2022.124060] [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] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has proven the need for developing reliable and affordable technologies to detect pathogens. Particularly, the detecting the genome in wastewater could be an indicator of the transmission rate to alert on new outbreaks. However, wastewater-based epidemiology remains a technological challenge to develop affordable technologies for sensing pathogens. In this work, we introduce a label-free and portable field-effect transistor (FET)-based sensor to detect N and ORF1ab genes of the SARS-CoV-2 genome. Our sensor integrates the reverse transcription loop-mediated isothermal amplification (RT-LAMP) reaction as a cost-effective molecular detection exhibiting high specificity. The detection relies upon pH changes, due to the RT-LAMP reaction products, which are detected through a simple, but effective, extended-gate FET sensor (EGFET). We evaluate the proposed device by measuring real wastewater samples to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genome, achieving a limit of detection of 0.31 × 10−3 ng/μL for end-point measurement. Moreover, we find the ability of the sensor to perform real-time-like analysis, showing that the RT-LAMP reaction provides a good response after 15 min for concentrations as low as 0.37 ng/μL. Hence, we show that our EGFET sensor offers a powerful tool to detect the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 genome with a naked-eye method, in a straightforward way than the conventional molecular methods for wastewater analysis.
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Ando H, Iwamoto R, Kobayashi H, Okabe S, Kitajima M. The Efficient and Practical virus Identification System with ENhanced Sensitivity for Solids (EPISENS-S): A rapid and cost-effective SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection method for routine wastewater surveillance. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2022; 843:157101. [PMID: 35952875 PMCID: PMC9357991 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.157101] [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: 04/13/2022] [Revised: 06/18/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 04/14/2023]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology has attracted attention as a COVID-19 surveillance tool. Here, we developed a practical method for detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater (the EPISENS-S method), which employs direct RNA extraction from wastewater pellets formed via low-speed centrifugation. The subsequent multiplex one-step RT-preamplification reaction with forward and reverse primers for SARS-CoV-2 and a reverse primer only for pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV) allowed for qPCR quantification of the targets with different abundances in wastewater from the RT-preamplification product. The detection sensitivity of the method was evaluated using wastewater samples seeded with heat-inactivated SARS-CoV-2 in concentrations of 2.11 × 103 to 2.11 × 106 copies/L. The results demonstrated that the sensitivity of the EPISENS-S method was two orders of magnitude higher than that of the conventional method (PEG precipitation, followed by regular RT-qPCR; PEG-QVR-qPCR). A total of 37 untreated wastewater samples collected from two wastewater treatment plants in Sapporo, Japan when 1.6 to 18 new daily reported cases per 100,000 people were reported in the city (March 4 to July 8, 2021), were examined using the EPISENS-S method to confirm its applicability to municipal wastewater. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was quantified in 92 % (34/37) of the samples via the EPISENS-S method, whereas none of the samples (0/37) was quantifiable via the PEG-QVR-qPCR method. The PMMoV concentrations measured by the EPISENS-S method ranged from 2.60 × 106 to 1.90 × 108 copies/L, and the SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations normalized by PMMoV ranged from 5.71 × 10-6 to 9.51 × 10-4 . The long-term trend of normalized SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration in wastewater was consistent with that of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the city. These results demonstrate that the EPISENS-S method is highly sensitive and suitable for routine COVID-19 wastewater surveillance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hiroki Ando
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Ryo Iwamoto
- Shionogi & Co. Ltd., 1-8 Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka 541-0045, Japan; AdvanSentinel Inc., 1-8 Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Kobayashi
- Shionogi & Co. Ltd., 1-8 Doshomachi 3-Chome, Chuo-ku, Osaka, Osaka 541-0045, Japan
| | - Satoshi Okabe
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan
| | - Masaaki Kitajima
- Division of Environmental Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Hokkaido University, North 13 West 8, Kita-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8628, Japan.
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50
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Islam A, Hossen F, Rahman A, Sultana KF, Hasan MN, Haque A, Sosa-Hernández JE, Oyervides-Muñoz MA, Parra-Saldívar R, Ahmed T, Islam T, Dhama K, Sangkham S, Bahadur NM, Reza HM, Jakariya, Al Marzan A, Bhattacharya P, Sonne C, Ahmed F. An opinion on Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring (WBEM) with Clinical Diagnostic Test (CDT) for detecting high-prevalence areas of community COVID-19 Infections. CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & HEALTH 2022; 31:100396. [PMID: 36320818 PMCID: PMC9612100 DOI: 10.1016/j.coesh.2022.100396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 09/26/2022] [Accepted: 09/28/2022] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring (WBEM) is an efficient surveillance tool during the COVID-19 pandemic as it meets all requirements of a complete monitoring system including early warning, tracking the current trend, prevalence of the disease, detection of genetic diversity as well asthe up-surging SARS-CoV-2 new variants with mutations from the wastewater samples. Subsequently, Clinical Diagnostic Test is widely acknowledged as the global gold standard method for disease monitoring, despite several drawbacks such as high diagnosis cost, reporting bias, and the difficulty of tracking asymptomatic patients (silent spreaders of the COVID-19 infection who manifest nosymptoms of the disease). In this current reviewand opinion-based study, we first propose a combined approach) for detecting COVID-19 infection in communities using wastewater and clinical sample testing, which may be feasible and effective as an emerging public health tool for the long-term nationwide surveillance system. The viral concentrations in wastewater samples can be used as indicatorsto monitor ongoing SARS-CoV-2 trends, predict asymptomatic carriers, and detect COVID-19 hotspot areas, while clinical sampleshelp in detecting mostlysymptomaticindividuals for isolating positive cases in communities and validate WBEM protocol for mass vaccination including booster doses for COVID-19.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aminul Islam
- COVID-19 Diagnostic Lab, Department of Microbiology, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali-3814, Bangladesh
- Advanced Molecular Lab, Department of Microbiology, President Abdul Hamid Medical College, Karimganj, Kishoreganj, Bangladesh
| | - Foysal Hossen
- COVID-19 Diagnostic Lab, Department of Microbiology, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali-3814, Bangladesh
| | - Arifur Rahman
- COVID-19 Diagnostic Lab, Department of Microbiology, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali-3814, Bangladesh
| | - Khandokar Fahmida Sultana
- COVID-19 Diagnostic Lab, Department of Microbiology, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali-3814, Bangladesh
| | - Mohammad Nayeem Hasan
- Department of Statistics, Shahjalal University of Science & Technology, Sylhet, Bangladesh
- Joint Rohingya Response Program, Food for the Hungry, Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh
| | - Atiqul Haque
- Key Lab of Animal Epidemiology and Zoonoses of Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, College of Veterinary Medicine, China Agricultural University, Beijing, China
- Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Veterinary and Animal Science, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University, Dinajpur-5200, Bangladesh
| | | | | | | | - Tanvir Ahmed
- Department of Civil Engineering, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh
| | | | - Kuldeep Dhama
- Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izzatnagar-243 122, Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India
| | - Sarawut Sangkham
- Department of Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Phayao, Muang District, 56000, Phayao, Thailand
| | - Newaz Mohammed Bahadur
- Department of Applied Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Noakhali Science and TechnologyUniversity, Noakhali-3814, Bangladesh
| | - Hasan Mahmud Reza
- Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, North South University, Bashundhara, Dhaka, 1229, Bangladesh
| | - Jakariya
- Department of Environmental Science and Management, North South University, Bashundhara, Dhaka-1229, Bangladesh
| | - Abdullah Al Marzan
- Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, Shahjalal University of Science and Technology, Sylhet, 3114, Bangladesh
| | - Prosun Bhattacharya
- COVID-19 Research@KTH, Department of Sustainable Development, Environmental Science and Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Teknikringen 10B, SE 114 28 Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Christian Sonne
- Department of Bioscience, Arctic Research Centre (ARC), Faculty of Science and Technology, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, PO Box 358, 4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Firoz Ahmed
- COVID-19 Diagnostic Lab, Department of Microbiology, Noakhali Science and Technology University, Noakhali-3814, Bangladesh
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