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Malla B, Shrestha S, Sthapit N, Hirai S, Raya S, Rahmani AF, Angga MS, Siri Y, Ruti AA, Haramoto E. Beyond COVID-19: Wastewater-based epidemiology for multipathogen surveillance and normalization strategies. THE SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT 2024; 946:174419. [PMID: 38960169 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2024.174419] [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: 04/27/2024] [Revised: 06/29/2024] [Accepted: 06/29/2024] [Indexed: 07/05/2024]
Abstract
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a critical tool for monitoring community health. Although much attention has focused on severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), a causative agent of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), other pathogens also pose significant health risks. This study quantified the presence of SARS-CoV-2, influenza A virus (Inf-A), and noroviruses of genogroups I (NoV-GI) and II (NoV-GII) in wastewater samples collected weekly (n = 170) from July 2023 to February 2024 from five wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Yamanashi Prefecture, Japan, by quantitative PCR. Inf-A RNA exhibited localized prevalence with positive ratios of 59 %-82 % in different WWTPs, suggesting regional outbreaks within specific areas. NoV-GI (94 %, 160/170) and NoV-GII (100 %, 170/170) RNA were highly prevalent, with NoV-GII (6.1 ± 0.8 log10 copies/L) consistently exceeding NoV-GI (5.4 ± 0.7 log10 copies/L) RNA concentrations. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 100 % of the samples, with mean concentrations of 5.3 ± 0.5 log10 copies/L in WWTP E and 5.8 ± 0.4 log10 copies/L each in other WWTPs. Seasonal variability was evident, with higher concentrations of all pathogenic viruses during winter. Non-normalized and normalized virus concentrations by fecal indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli and total coliforms), an indicator virus (pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV)), and turbidity revealed significant positive associations with the reported disease cases. Inf-A and NoV-GI + GII RNA concentrations showed strong correlations with influenza and acute gastroenteritis cases, particularly when normalized to E. coli (Spearman's ρ = 0.70-0.81) and total coliforms (ρ = 0.70-0.81), respectively. For SARS-CoV-2, non-normalized concentrations showed a correlation of 0.61, decreasing to 0.31 when normalized to PMMoV, suggesting that PMMoV is unsuitable. Turbidity normalization also yielded suboptimal results. This study underscored the importance of selecting suitable normalization parameters tailored to specific pathogens for accurate disease trend monitoring using WBE, demonstrating its utility beyond COVID-19 surveillance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bikash Malla
- Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Sadhana Shrestha
- Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Niva Sthapit
- Interdisciplinary Center for River Basin Environment, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Soichiro Hirai
- Department of Engineering, 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
| | - Aulia Fajar Rahmani
- Department of Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Made Sandhyana Angga
- Department of Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Yadpiroon Siri
- Department of Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, Japan
| | - Annisa Andarini Ruti
- Department of Engineering, University of Yamanashi, 4-3-11 Takeda, Kofu, Yamanashi 400-8511, 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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Xu D, Li J, Han L, Chen D, Bao W, Li L, Wang H, Shui J, Liang R, Liu Y, Liu Y, Cai K, Chen W. Epidemics and diversity of norovirus variants with acute gastroenteritis outbreak in Hongshan District, Wuhan City, China, 2021-2023. J Infect Public Health 2024; 17:102499. [PMID: 39067200 DOI: 10.1016/j.jiph.2024.102499] [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: 03/23/2024] [Revised: 07/09/2024] [Accepted: 07/11/2024] [Indexed: 07/30/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Norovirus is the predominant pathogen causing foodborne illnesses and acute gastroenteritis (AGE) outbreaks worldwide, imposing a significant disease burden. This study aimed to investigate the epidemiological characteristics and genotypic diversity of norovirus outbreaks in Hongshan District, Wuhan City. METHODS A total of 463 AGE cases from 39 AGE-related outbreaks in Hongshan District between January 1, 2021, and June 30, 2023, were included in the study. Reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to identify norovirus types GI and GII in anal swab samples from all cases. Norovirus-positive samples were sequenced and analyzed for the open reading frame (ORF) 1/ORF2 hinge region. RESULTS 26 norovirus infectious outbreaks were reported among 39 acute diarrheal outbreaks, including 14 outbreaks in kindergartens, 8 in elementary schools, and 4 in universities. Based on clinical symptoms and epidemiological investigations, a total of 1295 individuals were identified as having been exposed to norovirus, yielding an attack rate of 35.75 %. A higher proportion of outbreaks was observed during the winter and spring seasons (38.46 %). Additionally, norovirus-positive samples were subjected to sequencing and analysis of the open reading frame (ORF) 1/ORF2 hinge region. Genotypic data for norovirus was successfully obtained from 18 (69.23 %) of the infectious outbreaks, revealing 10 distinct recombinant genotypes. GII.4 Sydney 2012 [P31] and GII.17[P17] were the predominant strains in 2021 and 2022, GII.3 [P12] emerged as the dominant strain in 2023. CONCLUSION Norovirus outbreaks in Hongshan District predominantly occurred in crowded educational institutions, with peaks in the cold season and a high attack rate in universities. GII.3 [P12] has become the locally predominant strain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dandan Xu
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China; Wuhan Hongshan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430065, China
| | - Jing Li
- Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430079, China
| | - Lingyan Han
- Wuhan Hongshan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430065, China
| | - Ding Chen
- Wuhan Hongshan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430065, China
| | - Wubo Bao
- Wuhan Hongshan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430065, China
| | - Li Li
- Wuhan Hongshan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430065, China
| | - Huawei Wang
- Wuhan Hongshan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430065, China
| | - Jinglin Shui
- Wuhan Hongshan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430065, China
| | - Ruyi Liang
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
| | - Yang Liu
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China
| | - Yingle Liu
- The State Key Laboratory of Virology of China,Wuhan, Hubei 430072, China
| | - Kun Cai
- Hubei Provincial Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Wuhan, Hubei 430079, China.
| | - Weihong Chen
- Department of Occupational and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430030, China.
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Parrón I, Carol M, Bes N, Izquierdo C, Godoy P, Barrabeig I, Sala MR, Minguell S, Ferras J, Rius C, Martínez AI, Domínguez À. The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the incidence of acute gastroenteritis outbreaks in Catalonia (Spain). Epidemiol Infect 2023; 152:e10. [PMID: 38073577 PMCID: PMC10804134 DOI: 10.1017/s0950268823001851] [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: 05/01/2023] [Revised: 10/29/2023] [Accepted: 11/16/2023] [Indexed: 01/19/2024] Open
Abstract
We carried out a retrospective study of acute gastroenteritis (AGE) outbreaks reported between 1 January 2015 and 31 December 2021 in Catalonia (Spain) to compare the incidence from 2015 to 2019 with that observed from 2020 to 2021. We observed a higher incidence rate of outbreaks during the prepandemic period (16.89 outbreaks/1,000,000 person-years) than during the pandemic period (6.96 outbreaks/1,000,000 person-years) (rate ratio (RR) 0.41; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.34 to 0.51). According to the aetiology of the outbreak, those of viral aetiology decreased from 7.82 to 3.38 outbreaks/1,000,000 person-years (RR 2.31; 95% CI 1.72 to 3.12), and those of bacterial aetiology decreased from 5.01 to 2.78 outbreaks/1,000,000 person-years (RR 1.80; 95% CI 1.29 to 2.52). There was a great reduction in AGE outbreaks in Catalonia. This reduction may have been due to the effect of the nonpharmaceutical measures applied to reduce the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), but the collapse of the healthcare system and epidemiological surveillance services may also have had a strong influence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ignasi Parrón
- Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
- Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mònica Carol
- Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Núria Bes
- Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Pere Godoy
- Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Lleida, Spain
- Grup d’Epidemiologia Aplicada, Institut de Recerca Biomédica (IRBLleida), Lleida, Spain
- CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - Irene Barrabeig
- Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | - M. Rosa Sala
- Agència de Salut Pública de Catalunya, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
| | | | | | - Cristina Rius
- CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
- Agència de Salut Pública de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- Universitat Pompeu Fabra (UPF), Barcelona, Spain
| | | | - Àngela Domínguez
- Facultat de Medicina, Universitat de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
- CIBER de Epidemiologia y Salud Pública (CIBERESP), Madrid, Spain
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