Department of Water Technology and Environmental Engineering, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Czechia.
Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, University of Chemistry and Technology Prague, Czechia.
Sci Total Environ. 2023 May 1;871:161935. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161935. Epub 2023 Jan 31.
The COVID-19 pandemic has demanded a broad range of techniques to better monitor its extent. Owing to its consistency, non-invasiveness, and cost effectiveness, wastewater-based epidemiology has emerged as a relevant approach to monitor the pandemic's course. In this work, we analyzed the extent of the COVID-19 pandemic in five primary schools in Prague, the Czech Republic, and how different preventive measures impact the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA copy numbers in wastewaters. Copy numbers were measured by reverse transcription-multiplex quantitative real-time PCR. These copy numbers were compared to the number of infected individuals in each school identified through regular clinical tests. Each school had a different monitoring regime and subsequent application of preventive measures to thwart the spread of COVID-19. The schools that constantly identified and swiftly quarantined infected individuals exhibited persistently low amounts of SARS-CoV-2 RNA copies in their wastewaters. In one school, a consistent monitoring of infected individuals, coupled with a delayed action to quarantine, allowed for the estimation of a linear model to predict the number of infected individuals based on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the wastewater. The results show the importance of case detection and quarantining to stop the spread of the pandemic and its impact on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewaters. This work also shows that wastewater-based epidemiological models can be reliably used even in small water catchments, but difficulties arise to fit models due to the nonconstant input of viral particles into the wastewater systems.
COVID-19 大流行需要广泛的技术来更好地监测其范围。由于其一致性、非侵入性和成本效益，基于废水的流行病学已成为监测大流行进程的一种相关方法。在这项工作中，我们分析了 COVID-19 在捷克布拉格的五所小学的流行程度，以及不同的预防措施如何影响废水中 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 拷贝数的存在。通过逆转录-多重定量实时 PCR 测量拷贝数。这些拷贝数与通过常规临床测试在每所学校中确定的感染个体数量进行了比较。每所学校都有不同的监测方案和随后应用的预防措施来阻止 COVID-19 的传播。那些持续识别和迅速隔离感染者的学校，其废水中 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 拷贝数持续保持较低水平。在一所学校中，对感染者的持续监测，加上对隔离的延迟行动，允许估计一个线性模型，根据废水中 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 的存在来预测感染者的数量。结果表明，检测和隔离感染者对于阻止大流行的传播及其对废水中 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 存在的影响至关重要。这项工作还表明，即使在小的集水区，基于废水的流行病学模型也可以可靠地使用，但由于病毒颗粒不断输入到废水系统中，拟合模型会遇到困难。
