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.
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