First detection of SARS-CoV-2 in untreated wastewaters in Italy

Abstract

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater in Italy is described for the first time.• Use of the PEG/dextran concentration method for SARS-CoV-2 is reported. • A novel nested PCR assay specific for SARS-CoV-2 was designed. • Wastewater-based epidemiology can be applied for COVID-19 surveillance.

Metropolitan wastewater analysis for COVID-19 epidemiological surveillance

“…Compared to systematic testing of individuals, wastewater analysis is obviously less invasive, simpler and cheaper, but the sensitivity and reliability of this method remains to be shown. Previous work has established similar methods for the epidemiological surveillance of enteric viruses including norovirus, rotavirus (Santiso-Bellón et al, 2020), hepatitis E virus (Cuevas-Ferrando et al, 2020), influenza, and poliovirus (Heijnen and Medema, 2011;Hellmér et al, 2014;Hovi et al, 2012), and recent publications (Ahmed et al, 2020;Bivins et al, 2020;Haramoto et al, 2020;La Rosa et al, 2020;Lodder and de Roda Husman, 2020;Medema et al, 2020;Randazzo et al, 2020) suggest that COVID-19 detection in sewage is technically feasible, based on preliminary results obtained from a limited number of samples in China, Australia, the Netherlands, Italy, Japan, and USA. Here, we have analyzed sewage water collected in the Valencian region from February to April 2020 to assess our ability to detect the virus during the earliest stages of an outbreak.…”

Highly predictive regression model of active cases of COVID-19 in a population by screening wastewater viral load

“…Previous studies have evaluated the presence in wastewater of several viruses [41][42][43][44][45] . Processes to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater were first developed in the Netherlands 35 , followed by the USA 46 , France 39 , Australia 36 , Italy 47 and Spain 37,48 . In the Netherlands, no viral RNA was detected 3 weeks before the first case was reported, but genetic material started to appear over time, as the number of cases of COVID-19 increased 35 . A wastewater plant in Massachusetts detected a higher viral RNA load than expected based on the number of confirmed cases at that point, possibly reflecting viral shedding of asymptomatic cases in the community 38 .…”

Highly predictive regression model of active cases of COVID-19 in a population by screening wastewater viral load

“…Previous studies have evaluated the presence in wastewater of several viruses [41][42][43][44][45] . Processes to monitor SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater were first developed in the Netherlands 35 , followed by the USA 46 , France 39 , Australia 36 , Italy 47 and Spain 37,48 . In the Netherlands, no viral RNA was detected 3 weeks before the first case was reported, but genetic material started to appear over time, as the number of cases of COVID-19 increased 35 .…”

“…In the present work, nonparametric and even simple parametric regression models have been shown to be useful tools to construct prediction models for the real number of COVID-19 active cases as a function of the viral load. This is a pioneering approach in the context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic since, to our knowledge, WBE studies available are still limited to reporting the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in WWTPs and sewer networks, in order to establish a direct comparison with declared COVID-19 cases35,37,[46][47][48] . The only precedent52 combines computational analysis and modelling with a theoretical approach in order to identify useful variables and confirm the feasibility and cost-effectiveness of WBE as a prediction tool.…”