Langan Laura M, O'Brien Megan, Lovin Lea M, Scarlett Kendall R, Davis Haley, Henke Abigail N, Seidel Sarah E, Archer Natalie, Lawrence Eric, Norman R Sean, Bojes Heidi K, Brooks Bryan W
Department of Environmental Science, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97266, Waco, Texas 76798, United States.
Center for Reservoir and Aquatic Systems Research, Baylor University, One Bear Place #97178, Waco, Texas 76798, United States.
ACS ES T Water. 2022 Jul 6;2(11):2211-2224. doi: 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00103. eCollection 2022 Nov 11.
After its emergence in late November/December 2019, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 virus (SARS-CoV-2) rapidly spread globally. Recognizing that this virus is shed in feces of individuals and that viral RNA is detectable in wastewater, testing for SARS-CoV-2 in sewage collections systems has allowed for the monitoring of a community's viral burden. Over a 9 month period, the influents of two regional wastewater treatment facilities were concurrently examined for wild-type SARS-CoV-2 along with variants B.1.1.7 and B.1.617.2 incorporated as they emerged. Epidemiological data including new confirmed COVID-19 cases and associated hospitalizations and fatalities were tabulated within each location. RNA from SARS-CoV-2 was detectable in 100% of the wastewater samples, while variant detection was more variable. Quantitative reverse transcription PCR (RT-qPCR) results align with clinical trends for COVID-19 cases, and increases in COVID-19 cases were positively related with increases in SARS-CoV-2 RNA load in wastewater, although the strength of this relationship was location specific. Our observations demonstrate that clinical and wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 wild type and constantly emerging variants of concern can be combined using RT-qPCR to characterize population infection dynamics. This may provide an early warning for at-risk communities and increases in COVID-19 related hospitalizations.
2019年11月下旬/12月出现后，严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）迅速在全球传播。认识到该病毒可在个体粪便中排出且在废水中可检测到病毒RNA，对污水收集系统中的SARS-CoV-2进行检测有助于监测社区的病毒负荷。在9个月的时间里，同时对两个区域污水处理设施的进水进行了野生型SARS-CoV-2以及出现的B.1.1.7和B.1.617.2变体的检测。每个地点都整理了包括新增确诊COVID-19病例以及相关住院和死亡人数在内的流行病学数据。100%的废水样本中均可检测到SARS-CoV-2的RNA，而变体检测结果的变化更大。定量逆转录PCR（RT-qPCR）结果与COVID-19病例的临床趋势一致，COVID-19病例的增加与废水中SARS-CoV-2 RNA负荷的增加呈正相关，尽管这种关系的强度因地点而异。我们的观察结果表明，可使用RT-qPCR将SARS-CoV-2野生型和不断出现的关注变体的临床和废水监测结合起来，以表征人群感染动态。这可能为高危社区以及COVID-19相关住院人数的增加提供早期预警。
