Degradation rates influence the ability of composite samples to represent 24-hourly means of SARS-CoV-2 and other microbiological target measures in wastewater

Correlative Analysis of Wastewater Trends with Clinical Cases and Hospitalizations through Five Dominant Variant Waves of COVID-19

“…Once samples were filtered, filter membranes were then folded in on themselves four times and placed within 1.5 mL of 1× DNA/RNA Shield. These lysates were used for RNA extractions within 24 h of preparation using a Zymo Research Quick-RNA Viral Kit, with a modified in-house protocol to reduce qPCR inhibition at the University’s Center for AIDS Research (CFAR); the method of reducing qPCR inhibition in combination with this commercial kit is described in detail within Babler et al Concentrate samples were transported to the CFAR laboratory immediately on ice and stored at 4 °C until they were extracted (within 24 h). ,, The optimized methodology described in Babler et al underwent initial extraction efficiency evaluation and quality assessments by measuring nucleic acid concentrations (ng/μL) of extracted samples. To augment these initial assessments, we utilized beta-2 microglobulin (B2M) RNA present within wastewater as a qualitative measure to confirm that RNA was extracted from freshly collected samples.…”

“…This study addresses this data gap by evaluating the association between wastewater SARS-CoV-2 levels and the number of community cases under the influence of different variants, as well as the number of hospitalizations. ,,,,,, Starting in September 2020, the University of Miami (UM) established a WBE surveillance program as a tool for measuring the COVID-19 spread within its campuses . For 2 years since then, targeted sampling and research ,,,, have been utilized to inform policies for the safety of students, faculty, and staff. The Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant (CDWWTP) of Miami-Dade County was an early collaborative partner with UM facilitating routine weekly collection of wastewater servicing a large population allowing for comparisons between campus-level and community-level relationships between human case data and wastewater. ,, The objective of this study was to describe relationships between clinical case data and WBE surveillance data for the five distinct internally defined “variant waves” of the COVID-19 pandemic.…”

“…For 2 years since then, targeted sampling and research ,,,, have been utilized to inform policies for the safety of students, faculty, and staff. The Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant (CDWWTP) of Miami-Dade County was an early collaborative partner with UM facilitating routine weekly collection of wastewater servicing a large population allowing for comparisons between campus-level and community-level relationships between human case data and wastewater. ,, The objective of this study was to describe relationships between clinical case data and WBE surveillance data for the five distinct internally defined “variant waves” of the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesize that the clinical case data correlates strongly with wastewater data but shifts in relationships occur during times dominated by differing variant strains.…”

“…6,28,40,42,43,49,51 Starting in September 2020, the University of Miami (UM) established a WBE surveillance program as a tool for measuring the COVID-19 spread within its campuses. 44 For 2 years since then, targeted sampling and research 15,41,44,45,52 have been utilized to inform policies for the safety of students, faculty, and staff. The Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant (CDWWTP) of Miami-Dade County was an early collaborative partner with UM facilitating routine weekly collection of wastewater servicing a large population allowing for comparisons between campus-level and community-level relationships between human case data and wastewater.…”

“…The Central District Wastewater Treatment Plant (CDWWTP) of Miami-Dade County was an early collaborative partner with UM facilitating routine weekly collection of wastewater servicing a large population allowing for comparisons between campus-level and community-level relationships between human case data and wastewater. 15,41,52 The objective of this study was to describe relationships between clinical case data and WBE surveillance data for the five distinct internally defined "variant waves" of the COVID-19 pandemic. We hypothesize that the clinical case data correlates strongly with wastewater data but Vaccination data reporting the number of students and employees receiving the primary and booster vaccines was provided through the UM administration, which had developed databases for tracking vaccinations for both populations.…”