Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform, South African Medical Research Council, Cape Town, South Africa; Division of Medical Physiology, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Cape Town, South Africa.
S Afr Med J. 2021 Jan 28;111(3):198-202. doi: 10.7196/SAMJ.2021.v111i3.15154.
Recent studies have shown that the detection of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in wastewater may provide the basis for a surveillance system to track the environmental dissemination of this virus in communities. An effective wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) system may prove critical in South Africa (SA), where health systems infrastructure, testing capacity, personal protective equipment and human resource capacity are constrained. In this proof-of-concept study, we investigated the potential of SARS-CoV-2 RNA surveillance in untreated wastewater as the basis for a system to monitor COVID-19 prevalence in the population, an early warning system for increased transmission, and a monitoring system to assess the effectiveness of interventions. The laboratory confirmed the presence (qualitative analysis) and determined the RNA copy number of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (quantitative) analysis from 24-hour composite samples collected on 18 June 2020 from five wastewater treatment plants in Western Cape Province, SA. The study has shown that a WBE system for monitoring the status and trends of COVID-19 mass infection in SA is viable, and its development and implementation may facilitate the rapid identification of hotspots for evidence-informed interventions.
最近的研究表明，检测废水中的 SARS-CoV-2 遗传物质可能为监测该病毒在社区环境中传播的监测系统提供依据。在南非（SA），有效的基于废水的流行病学（WBE）系统可能至关重要，因为那里的卫生系统基础设施、检测能力、个人防护设备和人力资源能力都受到限制。在这项概念验证研究中，我们调查了未处理废水中 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 监测的潜力，作为监测人群中 COVID-19 流行率、传播增加的预警系统以及评估干预措施效果的监测系统的基础。实验室通过逆转录聚合酶链反应（定量）分析从 2020 年 6 月 18 日从西开普省五个废水处理厂收集的 24 小时综合样本中定性分析证实了 SARS-CoV-2 病毒 RNA 的存在，并确定了 SARS-CoV-2 病毒 RNA 的 RNA 拷贝数。该研究表明，监测南非 COVID-19 大规模感染状况和趋势的 WBE 系统是可行的，其开发和实施可能有助于快速识别基于证据的干预措施的热点。
