Servetas Stephanie L, Parratt Kirsten H, Brinkman Nichole E, Shanks Orin C, Smith Ted, Mattson Philip J, Lin Nancy J
National Institute of Standards and Technology, Biosystems and Biomaterials Division, 100 Bureau Dr, Gaithersburg, MD, USA.
United States Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Research and Development, 26 W Martin Luther King Dr, Cincinnati, OH, USA.
Case Stud Chem Environ Eng. 2022 Dec;6:100247. doi: 10.1016/j.cscee.2022.100247. Epub 2022 Aug 15.
The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted a wide range of public health system challenges for infectious disease surveillance. The discovery that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was shed in feces and can be characterized using PCR-based testing of sewage samples offers new possibilities and challenges for wastewater surveillance (WWS). However, WWS standardization of practices is needed to provide actionable data for a public health response. A workshop was convened consisting of academic, federal government, and industry stakeholders. The objective was to review WWS sampling protocols, testing methods, analyses, and data interpretation approaches for WWS employed nationally and identify opportunities for standardizing practices, including the development of documentary standards or reference materials in the case of SARS-CoV-2 surveillance. Other WWS potential future threats to public health were also discussed. Several aspects of WWS were considered and each offers the opportunity for standards development. These areas included sampling strategies, analytical methods, and data reporting practices. Each of these areas converged on a common theme, the challenge of results comparability across facilities and jurisdictions. For sampling, the consensus solution was the development of documentary standards to guide appropriate sampling practices. In contrast, the predominant opportunity for analytical methods was reference material development, such as PCR-based standards and surrogate recovery controls. For data reporting practices, the need for establishing the minimal required metadata, a metadata vocabulary, and standardizing data units of measure including measurement threshold definitions was discussed. Beyond SARS-CoV-2 testing, there was general agreement that the WWS platform will continue to be a valuable tool for a wide range of public health threats and that future cross-sector engagements are needed to guide an enduring WWS capability.
新冠疫情凸显了传染病监测在公共卫生系统方面面临的广泛挑战。严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）病毒可通过粪便排出且能够利用基于聚合酶链式反应（PCR）的污水样本检测进行特征分析，这一发现为污水监测（WWS）带来了新的机遇和挑战。然而，需要对污水监测的实践进行标准化，以便为公共卫生应对提供可采取行动的数据。为此召开了一次由学术、联邦政府和行业利益相关者参加的研讨会。其目的是审查全国范围内使用的污水监测采样方案、检测方法、分析和数据解释方法，并确定实践标准化的机会，包括在SARS-CoV-2监测方面制定文件标准或参考材料。还讨论了污水监测未来对公共卫生的其他潜在威胁。对污水监测的几个方面进行了审议，每个方面都提供了制定标准的机会。这些领域包括采样策略、分析方法和数据报告实践。所有这些领域都围绕一个共同主题，即不同设施和辖区之间结果可比性的挑战。对于采样，达成的共识解决方案是制定文件标准以指导适当的采样实践。相比之下，分析方法的主要机会是开发参考材料，如基于PCR的标准和替代物回收对照。对于数据报告实践，讨论了建立最低要求的元数据、元数据词汇表以及对包括测量阈值定义在内的数据计量单位进行标准化的必要性。除了SARS-CoV-2检测之外，与会者普遍认为，污水监测平台将继续是应对广泛公共卫生威胁的宝贵工具，并且未来需要跨部门参与来指导持久的污水监测能力建设。
