Developing scientific literacy with a cyclic independent study assisted CURE detecting SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater

The COVID-19 pandemic has exposed a high level of scientific illiteracy and mistrust that pervades the scientific and medical communities. This finding has proven the necessity of updating current methods used to expose undergraduates to research. The research in traditional course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) is limited by undergraduate time constraints, skill level, and course structure, and consequently it does not attain the learning objectives or the high-impact, relevant studies achieved in graduate-level laboratories using a cyclic trainee/trainer model. Although undergraduate independent study (ISY) research more closely matches the structure and learning objectives of graduate-level research, they are uncommon as professors and universities typically view them as a significant time and resource burden with limited return. Cyclic independent study-assisted CUREs (CIS-CUREs) combine many positive aspects of ISY graduate-level research, and CUREs by pre-training ISY research lead to facilitate CURE proposal and project semesters in a cyclic model. The CIS-CURE approach allowed undergraduate students at Stetson University to perform and disseminate more rigorous, involved, long-term, and challenging research projects, such as the surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. In doing so, all students would have the opportunity to participate in a high-impact research project and consequently gain a more comprehensive training, reach higher levels of research dissemination, and increase their competitiveness after graduating. Together, CIS-CUREs generate graduates with higher scientific literacy and thus combat scientific mistrust in communities.

Case Study: Impact of Diurnal Variations and Stormwater Dilution on SARS-CoV-2 RNA Signal Intensity at Neighborhood Scale Wastewater Pumping Stations

Wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a tool to track the spread of SARS-CoV-2. However, sampling at wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) cannot identify transmission hotspots within a city. Here, we sought to understand the diurnal variations (24 h) in SARS-CoV-2 RNA titers at the neighborhood level, using pump stations that serve vulnerable communities (e.g., essential workers, more diverse communities). Hourly composite samples were collected from wastewater pump stations located in (i) a residential area and (ii) a shopping district. In the residential area, SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration (N1, N2, and E assays) varied by up to 42-fold within a 24 h period. The highest viral load was observed between 5 and 7 am, when viral RNA was not diluted by stormwater. Normalizing peak concentrations during this time window with nutrient concentrations (N and P) enabled correcting for rainfall to connect sewage to clinical cases reported in the sewershed. Data from the shopping district pump station were inconsistent, probably due to the fluctuation of customers shopping at the mall. This work indicates pump stations serving the residential area offer a narrow time period of high signal intensity that could improve the sensitivity of WBE, and tracer compounds (N, P concentration) can be used to normalize SARS-CoV-2 signals during rainfall.

Wastewater-based epidemiological investigation of SARS-CoV-2 in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) may be successfully used to comprehensively monitor and determine the scale and dynamics of some infections in the community. We monitored severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in raw wastewater samples from Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil. The samples were collected and analyzed every week between May 2020 to May 2021. Meanwhile, different social restrictions were applied according to the number of hospitalized patients in the region. Weekly samples were obtained from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), named Navegantes and Serraria. To determine the SARS-CoV-2 RNA titers in wastewater, we performed RT-qPCR analysis targeting the N gene (N1). The highest titer of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was observed between epidemiological weeks (EWs) 33–37 (August), 42–43 (October), 45–46 (November), 49–51 (December) in 2020, and 1–3 (January), 7–13 (February to March) in 2021, with viral loads ranging from 1 × 106–3 × 106 genomic copies/Liter. An increase in positive confirmed cases followed such high viral loads. Depending on the sampling method used, positive cases increased in 6–7 days and 15 days after the rise of viral RNA titers in wastewater, with composite sampling methods showing a lower time lag and a higher resolution on the analyses. The results showed a direct relation between strict social restrictions and the loads of detected RNA reduction in wastewater, corroborating the number of confirmed cases. Differences in viral loads between different sampling points and methods were observed, as composite samples showed more stable results during the analyzed period. Besides, viral loads obtained from samples collected at Serraria WWTP were consistently higher than the ones obtained at Navegantes WWTP, indicating differences in local dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 spread in different regions of Porto Alegre. In conclusion, wastewater sampling to monitor SARS-CoV-2 is a robust tool to evaluate the viral loads contributing to hospitalized patients’ data and confirmed cases. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 detection in sewage may inform and alert the government when there are asymptomatic or non-tested patients.

Regressing SARS-CoV-2 Sewage Measurements Onto COVID-19 Burden in the Population: A Proof-of-Concept for Quantitative Environmental Surveillance

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an RNA virus, a member of the coronavirus family of respiratory viruses that includes severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). It has had an acute and dramatic impact on health care systems, economies, and societies of affected countries during the past 8 months. Widespread testing and tracing efforts are being employed in many countries in attempts to contain and mitigate this pandemic. Recent data has indicated that fecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 is common and that the virus RNA can be detected in wastewater. This indicates that wastewater monitoring may provide a potentially efficient tool for the epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 infection in large populations at relevant scales. In particular, this provides important means of (i) estimating the extent of outbreaks and their spatial distributions, based primarily on in-sewer measurements, (ii) managing the early-warning system quantitatively and efficiently, and (iii) verifying disease elimination. Here we report different virus concentration methods using polyethylene glycol (PEG), alum, or filtration techniques as well as different RNA extraction methodologies, providing important insights regarding the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage. Virus RNA particles were detected in wastewater in several geographic locations in Israel. In addition, a correlation of virus RNA concentration to morbidity was detected in Bnei-Barak city during April 2020. This study presents a proof of concept for the use of direct raw sewage-associated virus data, during the pandemic in the country as a potential epidemiological tool.

Regressing SARS-CoV-2 Sewage Measurements Onto COVID-19 Burden in the Population: A Proof-of-Concept for Quantitative Environmental Surveillance

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an RNA virus, a member of the coronavirus family of respiratory viruses that includes severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). It has had an acute and dramatic impact on health care systems, economies, and societies of affected countries during the past 8 months. Widespread testing and tracing efforts are being employed in many countries in attempts to contain and mitigate this pandemic. Recent data has indicated that fecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 is common and that the virus RNA can be detected in wastewater. This indicates that wastewater monitoring may provide a potentially efficient tool for the epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 infection in large populations at relevant scales. In particular, this provides important means of (i) estimating the extent of outbreaks and their spatial distributions, based primarily on in-sewer measurements, (ii) managing the early-warning system quantitatively and efficiently, and (iii) verifying disease elimination. Here we report different virus concentration methods using polyethylene glycol (PEG), alum, or filtration techniques as well as different RNA extraction methodologies, providing important insights regarding the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage. Virus RNA particles were detected in wastewater in several geographic locations in Israel. In addition, a correlation of virus RNA concentration to morbidity was detected in Bnei-Barak city during April 2020. This study presents a proof of concept for the use of direct raw sewage-associated virus data, during the pandemic in the country as a potential epidemiological tool.

Regressing SARS-CoV-2 Sewage Measurements Onto COVID-19 Burden in the Population: A Proof-of-Concept for Quantitative Environmental Surveillance

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is an RNA virus, a member of the coronavirus family of respiratory viruses that includes severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS). It has had an acute and dramatic impact on health care systems, economies, and societies of affected countries during the past 8 months. Widespread testing and tracing efforts are being employed in many countries in attempts to contain and mitigate this pandemic. Recent data has indicated that fecal shedding of SARS-CoV-2 is common and that the virus RNA can be detected in wastewater. This indicates that wastewater monitoring may provide a potentially efficient tool for the epidemiological surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 infection in large populations at relevant scales. In particular, this provides important means of (i) estimating the extent of outbreaks and their spatial distributions, based primarily on in-sewer measurements, (ii) managing the early-warning system quantitatively and efficiently, and (iii) verifying disease elimination. Here we report different virus concentration methods using polyethylene glycol (PEG), alum, or filtration techniques as well as different RNA extraction methodologies, providing important insights regarding the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage. Virus RNA particles were detected in wastewater in several geographic locations in Israel. In addition, a correlation of virus RNA concentration to morbidity was detected in Bnei-Barak city during April 2020. This study presents a proof of concept for the use of direct raw sewage-associated virus data, during the pandemic in the country as a potential epidemiological tool.