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Van Poelvoorde LAE, Gobbo A, Nauwelaerts SJD, Verhaegen B, Lesenfants M, Janssens R, Hutse V, Fraiture MA, De Keersmaecker S, Herman P, Van Hoorde K, Roosens N. Development of a reverse transcriptase digital droplet polymerase chain reaction-based approach for SARS-CoV-2 variant surveillance in wastewater. WATER ENVIRONMENT RESEARCH : A RESEARCH PUBLICATION OF THE WATER ENVIRONMENT FEDERATION 2024; 96:e10999. [PMID: 38414298 DOI: 10.1002/wer.10999] [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: 11/27/2023] [Revised: 01/16/2024] [Accepted: 01/27/2024] [Indexed: 02/29/2024]
Abstract
An urgent need for effective surveillance strategies arose due to the global emergence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Although vaccines and antivirals are available, concerns persist about the evolution of new variants with potentially increased infectivity, transmissibility, and immune evasion. Therefore, variant monitoring is crucial for public health decision-making. Wastewater-based surveillance has proven to be an effective tool to monitor SARS-CoV-2 variants within populations. Specific SARS-CoV-2 variants are detected and quantified in wastewater in this study using a reverse transcriptase digital droplet polymerase chain reaction (RT-ddPCR) approach. The 11 designed assays were first validated in silico using a substantial dataset of high-quality SARS-CoV-2 genomes to ensure comprehensive variant coverage. The assessment of the sensitivity and specificity with reference material showed the capability of the developed assays to reliably identify target mutations while minimizing false positives and false negatives. The applicability of the assays was evaluated using wastewater samples from a wastewater treatment plant in Ghent, Belgium. The quantification of the specific mutations linked to the variants of concern present in these samples was calculated using these assays based on the detection of single mutations, which confirms their use for real-world variant surveillance. In conclusion, this study provides an adaptable protocol to monitor SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater with high sensitivity and specificity. Its potential for broader application in other viral surveillance contexts highlights its added value for rapid response to emerging infectious diseases. PRACTITIONER POINTS: Robust RT-ddPCR methodology for specific SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern detection in wastewater. Rigorous validation that demonstrates high sensitivity and specificity. Demonstration of real-world applicability using wastewater samples. Valuable tool for rapid response to emerging infectious diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Andrea Gobbo
- Transversal activities in Applied Genomics, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
| | | | | | - Marie Lesenfants
- Epidemiology of infectious diseases, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Raphael Janssens
- Epidemiology of infectious diseases, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Veronik Hutse
- Epidemiology of infectious diseases, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
| | | | | | | | | | - Nancy Roosens
- Transversal activities in Applied Genomics, Sciensano, Brussels, Belgium
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Ren H, Ling Y, Cao R, Wang Z, Li Y, Huang T. Early warning of emerging infectious diseases based on multimodal data. BIOSAFETY AND HEALTH 2023; 5:S2590-0536(23)00074-5. [PMID: 37362865 PMCID: PMC10245235 DOI: 10.1016/j.bsheal.2023.05.006] [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] [Received: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 05/18/2023] [Accepted: 05/31/2023] [Indexed: 06/28/2023] Open
Abstract
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has dramatically increased the awareness of emerging infectious diseases. The advancement of multiomics analysis technology has resulted in the development of several databases containing virus information. Several scientists have integrated existing data on viruses to construct phylogenetic trees and predict virus mutation and transmission in different ways, providing prospective technical support for epidemic prevention and control. This review summarized the databases of known emerging infectious viruses and techniques focusing on virus variant forecasting and early warning. It focuses on the multi-dimensional information integration and database construction of emerging infectious viruses, virus mutation spectrum construction and variant forecast model, analysis of the affinity between mutation antigen and the receptor, propagation model of virus dynamic evolution, and monitoring and early warning for variants. As people have suffered from COVID-19 and repeated flu outbreaks, we focused on the research results of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and influenza viruses. This review comprehensively viewed the latest virus research and provided a reference for future virus prevention and control research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haotian Ren
- Bio-Med Big Data Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Yunchao Ling
- Bio-Med Big Data Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Ruifang Cao
- Bio-Med Big Data Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Zhen Wang
- Bio-Med Big Data Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
| | - Yixue Li
- Bio-Med Big Data Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
- School of Life Science, Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Hangzhou 310024 China
- Guangzhou Laboratory, Guangzhou 510005, China
- School of Life Sciences and Biotechnology, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Genetics and Development, Fudan University, Shanghai 200433, China
| | - Tao Huang
- Bio-Med Big Data Center, CAS Key Laboratory of Computational Biology, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200031, China
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Miao J, Wei Z, Zhou S, Li J, Shi D, Yang D, Jiang G, Yin J, Yang ZW, Li JW, Jin M. Predicting the concentrations of enteric viruses in urban rivers running through the city center via an artificial neural network. JOURNAL OF HAZARDOUS MATERIALS 2022; 438:129506. [PMID: 35999718 DOI: 10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.129506] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Revised: 06/24/2022] [Accepted: 06/29/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Viral waterborne diseases are widespread in cities due largely to the occurrence of enteric viruses in urban rivers, which pose a significant concern to human health. Yet, the application of rapid detection technology for enteric viruses in environmental water remains undeveloped globally. Here, multiple linear regression (MLR) modeling and artificial neural network (ANN) modeling, which used frequently measured physicochemical parameters in river water, were constructed to predict the concentration of enteric viruses including human enteroviruses (EnVs), rotaviruses (HRVs), astroviruses (AstVs), noroviruses GⅡ (HuNoVs GⅡ), and adenoviruses (HAdVs) in rivers. After training, testing, and validating, ANN models showed better performance than any MLR model for predicting the viral concentration in Jinhe River. All determined R-values for ANN models exceeded 0.89, suggesting a strong correlation between the predicted and measured outputs for target enteric viruses. Furthermore, ANN models provided a better congruence between the observed and predicted concentrations of each virus than MLR models did. Together, these findings strongly suggest that ANN modeling can provide more accurate and timely predictions of viral concentrations based on frequent (or routine) measurements of physicochemical parameters in river water, which would improve assessments of waterborne disease prevalence in cities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing Miao
- Department of Environment and Health, Tianjin Institute of Environmental & Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, No.1 Dali Road, Tianjin 300050, China
| | - Zilin Wei
- Department of Environment and Health, Tianjin Institute of Environmental & Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, No.1 Dali Road, Tianjin 300050, China
| | - Shuqing Zhou
- Department of Environment and Health, Tianjin Institute of Environmental & Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, No.1 Dali Road, Tianjin 300050, China
| | - Jiaying Li
- Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, 20 Cornwall Street, QLD 4103, Australia
| | - Danyang Shi
- Department of Environment and Health, Tianjin Institute of Environmental & Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, No.1 Dali Road, Tianjin 300050, China
| | - Dong Yang
- Department of Environment and Health, Tianjin Institute of Environmental & Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, No.1 Dali Road, Tianjin 300050, China
| | - Guangming Jiang
- School of Civil, Mining and Environmental Engineering, University of Wollongong, Wollongong 2522, Australia
| | - Jing Yin
- Department of Environment and Health, Tianjin Institute of Environmental & Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, No.1 Dali Road, Tianjin 300050, China
| | - Zhong Wei Yang
- Department of Environment and Health, Tianjin Institute of Environmental & Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, No.1 Dali Road, Tianjin 300050, China
| | - Jun Wen Li
- Department of Environment and Health, Tianjin Institute of Environmental & Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, No.1 Dali Road, Tianjin 300050, China
| | - Min Jin
- Department of Environment and Health, Tianjin Institute of Environmental & Operational Medicine, Key Laboratory of Risk Assessment and Control for Environment & Food Safety, No.1 Dali Road, Tianjin 300050, China.
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Zhou Y, Draghici A, Abbas J, Mubeen R, Boatca ME, Salam MA. Social Media Efficacy in Crisis Management: Effectiveness of Non-pharmaceutical Interventions to Manage COVID-19 Challenges. Front Psychiatry 2022; 12:626134. [PMID: 35197870 PMCID: PMC8859332 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.626134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 23.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The new identified virus COVID-19 has become one of the most contagious diseases in human history. The ongoing coronavirus has created severe threats to global mental health, which have resulted in crisis management challenges and international concerns related to health issues. As of September 9, 2021, there were over 223.4 million patients with COVID-19, including 4.6 million deaths and over 200 million recovered patients reported worldwide, which has made the COVID-19 outbreak one of the deadliest pandemics in human history. The aggressive public health implementations endorsed various precautionary safety and preventive strategies to suppress and minimize COVID-19 disease transmission. The second, third, and fourth waves of COVID-19 continue to pose global challenges to crisis management, as its evolution and implications are still unfolding. This study posits that examining the strategic ripostes and pandemic experiences sheds light on combatting this global emergency. This study recommends two model strategies that help reduce the adverse effects of the pandemic on the immune systems of the general population. This present paper recommends NPI interventions (non-pharmaceutical intervention) to combine various measures, such as the suppression strategy (lockdown and restrictions) and mitigation model to decrease the burden on health systems. The current COVID-19 health crisis has influenced all vital economic sectors and developed crisis management problems. The global supply of vaccines is still not sufficient to manage this global health emergency. In this crisis, NPIs are helpful to manage the spillover impacts of the pandemic. It articulates the prominence of resilience and economic and strategic agility to resume economic activities and resolve healthcare issues. This study primarily focuses on the role of social media to tackle challenges and crises posed by COVID-19 on economies, business activities, healthcare burdens, and government support for societies to resume businesses, and implications for global economic and healthcare provision disruptions. This study suggests that intervention strategies can control the rapid spread of COVID-19 with hands-on crisis management measures, and the healthcare system will resume normal conditions quickly. Global economies will revitalize scientific contributions and collaborations, including social science and business industries, through government support.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yunye Zhou
- Law School, Chongqing University, Chongqing, China
| | - Anca Draghici
- Faculty of Management in Production and Transportation, Politehnica University of Timisoara, Timisoara, Romania
| | - Jaffar Abbas
- School of Media and Communication, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai, China
| | - Riaqa Mubeen
- School of Management, Harbin Institute of Technology, Harbin, China
| | - Maria Elena Boatca
- Faculty of Management in Production and Transportation, Politehnica University of Timisoara, Timisoara, Romania
| | - Mohammad Asif Salam
- Faculty of Economics and Administration, King Abdulaziz University, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
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