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SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring: Environmental surveillance to assess community-level incidences of COVID-19 - Cincinnati
Citation:
Nagarkar, M., N. Brinkman, S. Keely, E. Wheaton, C. Hart, AND J. Garland. SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring: Environmental surveillance to assess community-level incidences of COVID-19 - Cincinnati. To be Presented at AWWA (American Water Works Association) Virtual Summit - Sustainable Water, PFAS, Waterborne Pathogens, Cincinnati, Ohio, February 10 - 11, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in wastewater worldwide and has been suggested as a tool for monitoring Covid-19 spread and identifying outbreaks on a community level. Many localities are implementing wastewater surveillance to quantify and track SARS-CoV-2 over time, and in some cases the resulting data have been used to inform public health decisions. However, there are a wide variety of sampling techniques, genome targets, and sample processing and analysis methods being utilized, complicating the comparability of different studies as well as the direct relation of wastewater signal to community infection rates. Here we present findings from a wastewater surveillance study in the greater Cincinnati area (OH, USA) using droplet digital RT-PCR to quantify SARS-CoV-2 along with other fecal indicator and recovery assessment targets. We investigated several methodological considerations, including the effect of sample holding time, freeze-thaw cycles, and RNA extraction process. We fractionated wastewater samples and found SARS-CoV-2 to be primarily solids-associated. Finally, we contrast the temporal signal found in a large sewershed and a smaller sub-sewershed within it as compared to local case data.
Description:
SARS-CoV-2 has been detected in wastewater worldwide and has been suggested as a tool for monitoring Covid-19 spread and identifying outbreaks on a community level. Many localities are implementing wastewater surveillance to quantify and track SARS-CoV-2 over time, and in some cases the resulting data have been used to inform public health decisions. However, there are a wide variety of sampling techniques, genome targets, and sample processing and analysis methods being utilized, complicating the comparability of different studies as well as the direct relation of wastewater signal to community infection rates. Here we present findings from a wastewater surveillance study in the greater Cincinnati area (OH, USA) using droplet digital RT-PCR to quantify SARS-CoV-2 along with other fecal indicator and recovery assessment targets. We investigated several methodological considerations, including the effect of sample holding time, freeze-thaw cycles, and RNA extraction process. We fractionated wastewater samples and found SARS-CoV-2 to be primarily solids-associated. Finally, we contrast the temporal signal found in a large sewershed and a smaller sub-sewershed within it as compared to local case data.