Zhang Xiao, Zhang Liang, Wang Yuanyuan, Zhang Meiling, Zhou Jienan, Liu Xin, Wang Yan, Qu Changsheng, Han Wenxiang, Hou Min, Deng Fuchang, Luo Yueyun, Mao Yixin, Gu Wen, Dong Zhaomin, Pan Yang, Zhang Daitao, Tang Song, Zhang Lan
China CDC Key Laboratory of Environment and Population Health, National Institute of Environmental Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Beijing100021, China.
Acute Infectious Disease Prevention and Control Institute, Yunnan Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Kunming, Yunnan650022, China.
ACS ES T Water. 2022 Oct 25;2(12):2367-2377. doi: 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00224. eCollection 2022 Dec 9.
Ruili and Longchuan, two border counties in southwestern China, are facing epidemic control challenges due to the high rate of COVID-19 infections originating from neighboring Myanmar. Here, we aimed to establish the applicability of wastewater and environmental water surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and conduct whole-genome sequencing (WGS) to trace the possible infection origin. In August 2021, total 72 wastewater and river water samples were collected from 32 sampling sites. SARS-CoV-2 ORF1ab and N genes were measured by RT-qPCR. We found that 19 samples (26.39%) were positive, and the viral loads of ORF1ab and N genes were 6.62 × 10-2.55×10 and 1.86 × 10-2.32 × 10 copies/L, respectively. WGS further indicated the sequences in two transboundary river samples, and one hospital wastewater sample belonged to the delta variant, suggesting that the infection source might be areas with high COVID-19 delta variant incidence in Southeast Asia (e.g., Myanmar). We reported for the first time the detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the transboundary rivers of Myanmar-China. Our findings demonstrate that wastewater and environmental water may provide independent and nonintrusive surveillance points to monitor the global spread of emerging COVID-19 variants of concern, particularly in high-risk regions or border areas with considerable epidemic challenges and poor wastewater treatment facilities.
中国西南部的两个边境县瑞丽和陇川，正面临着疫情防控挑战，因为源自邻国缅甸的新冠病毒感染率很高。在此，我们旨在确定对严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）进行废水和环境水监测的适用性，并进行全基因组测序（WGS）以追踪可能的感染源。2021年8月，从32个采样点共采集了72份废水和河水样本。通过逆转录定量聚合酶链反应（RT-qPCR）检测SARS-CoV-2的开放阅读框1ab（ORF1ab）和N基因。我们发现19个样本（26.39%）呈阳性，ORF1ab和N基因的病毒载量分别为6.62×10 - 2.55×10和1.86×10 - 2.32×10拷贝/升。全基因组测序进一步表明，两个跨境河流样本和一个医院废水样本中的序列属于德尔塔变异株，这表明感染源可能是东南亚新冠病毒德尔塔变异株发病率高的地区（如缅甸）。我们首次报告了在中国-缅甸跨境河流中检测和定量SARS-CoV-2 RNA的情况。我们的研究结果表明，废水和环境水可能提供独立且非侵入性的监测点，以监测新出现的新冠病毒变异株在全球的传播，特别是在面临重大疫情挑战且废水处理设施较差的高风险地区或边境地区。
