Uncertainties in estimating SARS-CoV-2 prevalence by wastewater-based epidemiology

Li, Xuan; Zhang, Shuxin; Shi, Jiahua; Luby, Stephen P.; Jiang, Guangming

doi:10.1016/j.cej.2021.129039

Cited by 174 publications

(174 citation statements)

References 116 publications

(115 reference statements)

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“…In addition to the secondary treatment evaluation, our study provided insights on the role of primary treatment only in the removal of SARS-CoV-2 RNA, as well as the addition of a tertiary process in the water line. The obtained results on the primary treatment SARS-CoV-2 RNA removal of 0.48 ± 1.17 log are in the range of previously reported elimination for WWTPs primary treatment (Abu A li et al 2021 ) that observed an elimination close to 1 log. Whereas no detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was determined after the addition of chlorination, applied as tertiary treatment.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 79%

“…Besides, some factors could provoke variability in the reported SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentration in wastewater. For instance, in a thorough assessment of uncertainty in SARS-CoV-2 prevalence estimation by wastewater-based epidemiology, Li et al (2021) pinpointed precipitation and the decay in sewers as major obstacles to prevent higher accuracy. Correlation between higher COVID-19 incidence and positive samples in wastewater has been observed in previous studies, although high variability in detection has already been reported.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Elimination of SARS-CoV-2 along wastewater and sludge treatment processes

et al. 2021

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The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is shed in the feces of infected people. As a consequence, genomic RNA of the virus can be detected in wastewater. Although the presence of viral RNA does not inform on the infectivity of the virus, this presence of genetic material raised the question of the effectiveness of treatment processes in reducing the virus in wastewater and sludge. In this work, treatment lines of 16 wastewater treatment plants were monitored to evaluate the removal of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in raw, processed waters and sludge, from March to May 2020. Viral RNA copies were enumerated using reverse transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) in 5 different laboratories. These laboratories participated in proficiency testing scheme and their results demonstrated the reliability and comparability of the results obtained for each one. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was found in 50.5% of the 101 influent wastewater samples characterized. Positive results were detected more frequently in those regions with a COVID-19 incidence higher than 100 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) significantly reduced the occurrence of virus RNA along the water treatment lines. Secondary treatment effluents showed an occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in 23.3% of the samples and no positive results were found after MBR and chlorination. Non-treated sludge (from primary and secondary treatments) presented a higher occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA than the corresponding water samples, demonstrating the affinity of virus particles for solids. Furthermore, SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in treated sludge after thickening and anaerobic digestion, whereas viral RNA was completely eliminated from sludge only when thermal hydrolysis was applied. Finally, co-analysis of SARS-CoV-2 and F-specific RNA bacteriophages was done in the same water and sludge samples in order to investigate the potential use of these bacteriophages as indicators of SARS-CoV-2 fate and reduction along the wastewater treatment.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 79%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Elimination of SARS-CoV-2 along wastewater and sludge treatment processes

et al. 2021

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“…An accurate estimation of case number will help us finetune the viral load model, and the calibrated model may be used to perform back-calculation of actual cases based on wastewater viral load. However, this is another huge challenge in the application of WBE and is currently subject to significant uncertainties [52], more thorough studies are needed to take the model to the next stage. Improving the assay sensitivity has also been proposed as a solution.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Early Warning of COVID-19 in Tokyo via Wastewater-based Epidemiology: How Feasible It Really Is?

Zhu

Oishi

Saito

et al. 2021

J. of Wat. & Envir. Tech.

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Amid the ongoing battle against COVID-19, the scientific community has high hope in wastewaterbased epidemiology (WBE). It was not only proposed as a complement to capacity-plagued clinical testing, but also an early warning tool that may enable timely intervention measures. In this study, we developed a wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA load model based on the fecal shedding profile of infected individuals. The epidemic data of COVID-19 in the Tokyo metropolitan area were used to perform a simulation to analyze the capability of WBE in providing early warning. The simulation result suggests that under the current settings, WBE is not a feasible approach as the detection limit is too high to provide a warning signal in the early stage of the epidemic. However, it also indicates that if the methodology can be reasonably improved by new experimental practices, optimized sampling strategy, and refined model, the concentration of viral RNA in Tokyo wastewater would exceed the detection limit as early as in April 2020, when Tokyo was being hit by the first wave of COVID-19 outbreak. This early detection may have great social benefit if the detection can be used to facilitate the decision-making process and form epidemic emergency response.

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“…Possible recommendations may be towards lockdown or quarantine. Researchers in Australia, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the USA have already detected SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater ( Li et al, 2021a , b ; Malapatty, 2020 ; Medema et al, 2020a , b ). During the early week of the outbreak of COVID-19 in New Haven (Connecticut) several cases were tracked and declared positive by confirming the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in primary sewage sludge from local wastewater treatment plants ( Peccia et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens in municipal wastewater, landfill leachate, and solid waste: A review about virus surveillance, infectivity, and inactivation

Anand

Kumari

et al. 2022

Environmental Research

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This review discusses the techniques available for detecting and inactivating of pathogens in municipal wastewater, landfill leachate, and solid waste. In view of the current COVID-19 pandemic, SARS-CoV-2 is being given special attention, with a thorough examination of all possible transmission pathways linked to the selected waste matrices. Despite the lack of works focused on landfill leachate, a systematic review method, based on cluster analysis, allows to analyze the available papers devoted to sewage sludge and wastewater, allowing to focalize the work on technologies able to detect and treat pathogens. In this work, great attention is also devoted to infectivity and transmission mechanisms of SARS-CoV-2. Moreover, the literature analysis shows that sewage sludge and landfill leachate seem to have a remote chance to act as a virus transmission route (pollution-to-human transmission) due to improper collection and treatment of municipal wastewater and solid waste. However due to the incertitude about virus infectivity, these possibilities cannot be excluded and need further investigation. As a conclusion, this paper shows that additional research is required not only on the coronavirus-specific disinfection, but also the regular surveillance or monitoring of viral loads in sewage sludge, wastewater, and landfill leachate. The disinfection strategies need to be optimized in terms of dosage and potential adverse impacts like antimicrobial resistance, among many other factors. Finally, the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogenic microorganisms in sewage sludge, wastewater, and landfill leachate can hamper the possibility to ensure safe water and public health in economically marginalized countries and hinder the realization of the United Nations' sustainable development goals (SDGs).

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Uncertainties in estimating SARS-CoV-2 prevalence by wastewater-based epidemiology

Abstract: Graphical abstract

Cited by 174 publications

References 116 publications

Elimination of SARS-CoV-2 along wastewater and sludge treatment processes

Elimination of SARS-CoV-2 along wastewater and sludge treatment processes

Early Warning of COVID-19 in Tokyo via Wastewater-based Epidemiology: How Feasible It Really Is?

SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogens in municipal wastewater, landfill leachate, and solid waste: A review about virus surveillance, infectivity, and inactivation

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