Aschidamini Prandi Bruno, Mangini Arthur Tonietto, Santiago Neto Waldemir, Jarenkow André, Violet-Lozano Lina, Campos Aline Alves Scarpellini, Colares Evandro Ricardo da Costa, Buzzetto Paula Regina de Oliveira, Azambuja Camila Bernardes, Trombin Lisiane Correa de Barros, Raugust Margot de Souza, Lorenzini Rafaela, Larre Alberto da Silva, Rigotto Caroline, Campos Fabrício Souza, Franco Ana Cláudia
Virology Laboratory, Institute for Basic Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.
State Center for Health Surveillance, Rio Grande do Sul State Health Department, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, 90119-900, Brazil.
Sci One Health. 2023 Feb 3;1:100008. doi: 10.1016/j.soh.2023.100008. eCollection 2022 Nov.
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) may be successfully used to comprehensively monitor and determine the scale and dynamics of some infections in the community. We monitored severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in raw wastewater samples from Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil. The samples were collected and analyzed every week between May 2020 to May 2021. Meanwhile, different social restrictions were applied according to the number of hospitalized patients in the region. Weekly samples were obtained from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTP), named Navegantes and Serraria. To determine the SARS-CoV-2 RNA titers in wastewater, we performed RT-qPCR analysis targeting the N gene (N1). The highest titer of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was observed between epidemiological weeks (EWs) 33-37 (August), 42-43 (October), 45-46 (November), 49-51 (December) in 2020, and 1-3 (January), 7-13 (February to March) in 2021, with viral loads ranging from 1 × 10-3 × 10 genomic copies/Liter. An increase in positive confirmed cases followed such high viral loads. Depending on the sampling method used, positive cases increased in 6-7 days and 15 days after the rise of viral RNA titers in wastewater, with composite sampling methods showing a lower time lag and a higher resolution on the analyses. The results showed a direct relation between strict social restrictions and the loads of detected RNA reduction in wastewater, corroborating the number of confirmed cases. Differences in viral loads between different sampling points and methods were observed, as composite samples showed more stable results during the analyzed period. Besides, viral loads obtained from samples collected at Serraria WWTP were consistently higher than the ones obtained at Navegantes WWTP, indicating differences in local dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 spread in different regions of Porto Alegre. In conclusion, wastewater sampling to monitor SARS-CoV-2 is a robust tool to evaluate the viral loads contributing to hospitalized patients' data and confirmed cases. In addition, SARS-CoV-2 detection in sewage may inform and alert the government when there are asymptomatic or non-tested patients.
基于废水的流行病学(WBE)可成功用于全面监测和确定社区中某些感染的规模和动态。我们监测了巴西南部阿雷格里港未经处理的废水样本中的严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2(SARS-CoV-2)RNA。在2020年5月至2021年5月期间每周收集并分析样本。同时,根据该地区住院患者的数量实施了不同的社会限制措施。每周从两个名为纳韦甘特斯和塞拉里亚的污水处理厂(WWTP)获取样本。为了确定废水中SARS-CoV-2 RNA的滴度,我们针对N基因(N1)进行了RT-qPCR分析。在2020年的第33 - 37周(8月)、42 - 43周(10月)、45 - 46周(11月)、49 - 51周(12月)以及2021年的第1 - 3周(1月)、7 - 13周(2月至3月)观察到SARS-CoV-2 RNA的最高滴度,病毒载量范围为1×10 - 3×10基因组拷贝/升。在如此高的病毒载量之后,确诊阳性病例有所增加。根据所使用的采样方法,废水病毒RNA滴度上升后6 - 7天和15天确诊阳性病例增加,混合采样方法显示出较短的时间滞后和更高的分析分辨率。结果表明严格的社会限制措施与废水中检测到的RNA负荷降低之间存在直接关系,这与确诊病例数相符。观察到不同采样点和方法之间病毒载量存在差异,因为混合样本在分析期间显示出更稳定的结果。此外,从塞拉里亚污水处理厂采集的样本获得的病毒载量始终高于从纳韦甘特斯污水处理厂获得的病毒载量,这表明阿雷格里港不同地区SARS-CoV-2传播的局部动态存在差异。总之,通过废水采样监测SARS-CoV-2是评估导致住院患者数据和确诊病例的病毒载量的有力工具。此外,当存在无症状或未接受检测的患者时,污水中SARS-CoV-2的检测可为政府提供信息并发出警报。