This study aimed to provide a low-cost technique for virus detection in wastewater by
improving an aluminum hydroxide adsorption–precipitation method. The releasing
efficiency of viruses trapped by the aluminum hydroxide precipitates was improved by
adding ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid disodium salt (EDTA-2Na) to dissolve the
precipitates at a Na
2
EDTA·2H
2
O:AlCl
3
molar ratio
of 1.8–3.6. The recovery rates of the improved method for seven viruses,
including SARS-CoV-2-abEN pseudovirus and six animal viruses, were 5.9–22.3% in
tap water and 4.9–35.1% in wastewater. Rotavirus A (9.0–4.5 ×
10
3
copies/mL), porcine circovirus type 2 (5.8–6.4 ×
10
5
copies/mL), and porcine parvovirus (5.6–2.7 ×
10
4
copies/mL) were detected in China’s pig farm wastewater, while
rotavirus A (2.0 × 10
3
copies/mL) was detected in hospital wastewater.
SARS-CoV-2 was detected in hospital wastewater (8.4 × 10
2
to 1.4 ×
10
4
copies/mL), sewage (6.4 × 10 to 2.3 × 10
3
copies/mL), and river water (6.6 × 10 to 9.3 × 10 copies/mL) in Nepal. The
method was automized, with a rate of recovery of 4.8 ± 1.4% at a virus
concentration of 10
2
copies/mL. Thus, the established method could be used
for wastewater-based epidemiology with sufficient sensitivity in coping with the
COVID-19 epidemic and other virus epidemics.