Zhang Meiyi, King Maria D
Aerosol Technology Laboratory, Biological & Agricultural Engineering Department, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.
Microorganisms. 2023 Jan 10;11(1):174. doi: 10.3390/microorganisms11010174.
Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) on SARS-CoV-2 has been proved to be an effective approach to estimate the prevalence of COVID-19 in communities and cities. However, its application was overlooked at smaller scale, such as a single facility. Meat processing plants are hotspots for COVID-19 outbreaks due to their unique environment that are favorable for the survival and persistence of SARS-CoV-2. This is the first known WBS study in meat processing plants. The goal was to understand the temporal variation of the SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater from a meat processing plant in Canada during a three-month campaign and to find any correlation with clinically confirmed cases in the surrounding city area. Higher SARS-CoV-2 concentrations and detection frequencies were observed in the solid fraction compared to the liquid fraction of the wastewater. The viruses can be preserved in the solid fraction of wastewater for up to 12 days. The wastewater virus level did not correlate to the city-wide COVID-19 cases due to the unmatching scales. WBS on SARS-CoV-2 in meat processing plants can be useful for identifying COVID-19 outbreaks in the facility and serve as an effective alternative when resources for routine individual testing are not available.
基于废水的严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）监测已被证明是一种估算社区和城市中新型冠状病毒肺炎（COVID-19）流行率的有效方法。然而，其在较小规模（如单个设施）的应用却被忽视了。肉类加工厂因其有利于SARS-CoV-2生存和持续存在的独特环境，成为COVID-19疫情的热点地区。这是已知的第一项针对肉类加工厂的基于废水的监测研究。目标是了解加拿大一家肉类加工厂在为期三个月的监测期间废水中SARS-CoV-2水平的时间变化，并找出与周边城市地区临床确诊病例的任何相关性。与废水的液体部分相比，在固体部分观察到更高的SARS-CoV-2浓度和检测频率。病毒可在废水的固体部分中保存长达12天。由于规模不匹配，废水病毒水平与全市范围的COVID-19病例无关。对肉类加工厂中的SARS-CoV-2进行基于废水的监测，有助于识别工厂内的COVID-19疫情，并且在没有常规个体检测资源时可作为一种有效的替代方法。
