Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg, South Africa E-mail:
Department of Biological and Agricultural Sciences, Sol Plaatjie University, Kimberley, South Africa.
Water Sci Technol. 2023 Jul;88(2):355-366. doi: 10.2166/wst.2023.197.
The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has resulted in the infection and death of many South Africans. This is in part due to a lack of testing facilities, equipment, and staff in many areas, particularly those with low population densities. The study focused on the infection dynamics of the virus in the Northern Cape province in all five municipalities investigating wastewater-based surveillance for the province. Reverse transcription was used to identify the virus, and SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in a batch of wastewater from four of the five areas sampled and was collected in the months that fall within the third wave of COVID as well as the winter season (May-July). The detection of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA correlated with infection statistics as well as the seasonality of the virus. This research showed a positive result in using wastewater epidemiology to track the spread of the virus but also highlighted the need for improved methodology when it comes to this surveillance. This includes sampling smaller areas and frequent sampling in multiple areas to show clear patterns within smaller, sparsely populated communities.
SARS-CoV-2 大流行导致许多南非人感染和死亡。这在一定程度上是由于许多地区，特别是人口密度低的地区缺乏检测设施、设备和人员。该研究专注于北开普省五个直辖市的病毒感染动态，调查该省基于废水的监测情况。使用逆转录酶进行病毒鉴定，在五个采样地区中的四个地区采集的一批废水中检测到 SARS-CoV-2 RNA，这些样本采集于 COVID-19 第三波疫情期间以及冬季（5 月至 7 月）。SARS-CoV-2 RNA 的检测与感染统计数据以及病毒的季节性相关。这项研究表明，使用废水流行病学来追踪病毒的传播是一种有效的方法，但也突出了在这种监测方面需要改进方法。这包括在较小的地区进行小范围采样和在多个地区频繁采样，以显示在较小、人口稀少的社区中出现的清晰模式。
