The Biodesign Institute Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, AZ 85287-8101, USA; School for Engineering of Matter, Transport, and Energy, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, AZ 85287-8101, USA.
The Biodesign Institute Center for Environmental Health Engineering, Arizona State University, 1001 S. McAllister Ave, AZ 85287-8101, USA.
Sci Total Environ. 2022 Aug 25;836:155576. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.155576. Epub 2022 Apr 30.
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a public health tool utilized for drug surveillance, and more recently, infectious disease monitoring of SARS-CoV-2. Sample collection is historically performed at a wastewater treatment plant, however, at this spatial resolution, much information related to actionable and contextually relevant community health data may be lost. Sampling from within the sewer collection system is now being employed more widely, bringing unique challenges, including health and safety concerns related to sample collection. As proof of concept, we tested the efficacy of sampling at the building-level from a sewer cleanout at an undisclosed location in Greater Phoenix, AZ, USA, to (i) test the feasibility of wastewater sample collection from this alternative access point, (ii) assess the advantages and limitations experienced for both maintenance-hole and cleanout-level sampling, (iii) screen for chemical analytes to evaluate detectability, and (iv) create a sampling framework for future near-source WBE investigations. Results indicate that use of a sewer cleanout compared to a maintenance hole is cost-effective, practical, and safe, while still preserving the anonymity and privacy for the contributing population. Additionally, of the 37 biomarkers screened over two sampling events, 20 were detected that cover a wide range of human behavior, exposure, and activity, indicating use of a sewer cleanout to be entirely feasible for downstream analysis. This reported success of sewer cleanout sampling for WBE and corresponding framework may allow practitioners to isolate specific complexes or buildings of interest, while avoiding challenges that can arise from maintenance hole sampling, thus allowing for widescale implementation of WBE for public health purposes.
基于污水的流行病学（WBE）是一种用于药物监测的公共卫生工具，最近也用于监测 SARS-CoV-2 等传染病。传统上，样本采集是在污水处理厂进行的，但是，在这种空间分辨率下，可能会丢失与可操作和相关的社区健康数据相关的大量信息。现在，越来越广泛地采用从污水收集系统内部进行采样，这带来了独特的挑战，包括与样本采集相关的健康和安全问题。作为概念验证，我们在美国亚利桑那州大凤凰城的一个未公开地点的污水检查井从建筑物级别测试了从污水中采样的效果，以：(i) 测试从这个替代接入点采集污水样本的可行性，(ii) 评估用于检查井和检修孔级别的采样的优势和局限性，(iii) 筛选化学分析物以评估可检测性，以及 (iv) 为未来的近源 WBE 调查创建采样框架。结果表明，与检修孔相比，使用污水检查井具有成本效益、实用且安全，同时仍然为贡献人群保留了匿名性和隐私性。此外，在两个采样事件中筛选了 37 种生物标志物，其中有 20 种被检测到，这些标志物涵盖了广泛的人类行为、暴露和活动，表明使用污水检查井进行下游分析是完全可行的。这种用于 WBE 的污水检查井采样的成功案例和相应的框架可能使从业者能够隔离特定的建筑群或建筑物，同时避免了从检修孔采样可能带来的挑战，从而为公共卫生目的广泛实施 WBE 提供了可能。
