Averting an outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in a university residence hall through wastewater surveillance

Abstract

A wastewater surveillance program targeting a university residence hall was implemented during the spring semester 2021 as a proactive measure to avoid an outbreak of COVID-19 on campus. Over a period of 7 weeks from early February through late March 2021, wastewater originating from the residence hall was collected as grab samples 3 times per week. During this time, there was no detection of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR in the residence hall wastewater stream. Aiming to obtain a sample more representative of the residence hall community, a decision was made to use passive samplers beginning in late March onwards. Adopting a Moore Swab approach, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in wastewater samples on just two days after passive samplers were activated. These samples were also positive for the B.1.1.7 (Alpha) Variant of Concern (VOC) by RT-qPCR. The positive result triggered a public health case finding response including a mobile testing unit deployed to the residence hall the following day with testing of nearly 200 students and staff, which identified two laboratory-confirmed cases of B.1.1.7 variant COVID-19. These individuals were re-located to a separate quarantine facility averting an outbreak on campus. Aggregating wastewater and clinical data, the campus wastewater surveillance program has yielded the first estimates of fecal shedding rates of the B.1.1.7 VOC of SARS-CoV-2 in individuals from a non-clinical setting.

Performance evaluation of virus concentration methods for implementing SARS-CoV-2 wastewater based epidemiology emphasizing quick data turnaround

“…Other studies also reported similar range of SARS-CoV-2 concentration both in the university resident hall’s wastewater and WWTP’s influent using the CP Select method. For example, A range of 2.4⍰10 4 - 4⍰10 4 copies/L of SARS-CoV-2 gene was reported in the residence hall wastewater using the CP Select method during the surveillance at the University of Windsor (Corchis-Scott et al, 2021) while it was in the range from 10 3 - 2⍰10 5 copies/L for WWTP’s influent samples (Forés et al, 2021; Lynch et al, 2021). Although these data are mostly similar to the concentration found in this study, however, there is highly likely to have a different concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater as it mostly depends on the density of the COVID-19 infected people staying in those area during the sampling time, demographic location, pattern of the sewerage system, and wastewater characteristics (Barua et al, 2021).…”

“…Virus concentration is crucial in the wastewater especially when viral titers are very low, as is seen in building-based surveillance (Corchis-Scott et al, 2021; Gibas et al, 2021). Polyethylene glycol (PEG)-based precipitation was initially widely used to concentrate the virus with successful signal detection ((La Rosa et al, 2020; Wu et al, 2020a; Kumar et al, 2020).…”

“…Building level wastewater has a higher variability in viral load, fecal matter content and suspended solids concentration compared to WWTP influent samples. Corchis-Scott et al, (2021) reported that the pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV), a fecal indicator, in residence hall wastewater varied in concentration across 4 orders of magnitude with a coefficient of variation (CV) of 2.83. In comparison, the signal varied more modestly for influent samples from five different WWTPs, with concentrations falling within only one order of magnitude (CV of 0.38).…”

Wastewater Surveillance of U.S. Coast Guard Installations and Seagoing Military Vessels to Mitigate the Risk of COVID-19 Outbreaks

“…Wastewater access points were identified downstream of the dormitories/barracks at each base within the United States. To sample the wastewater, a tampon (OB Ultra Absorbency, Edgewell Personal Care, Shelton, CT) was connected by a resilient line attached to a carabiner and placed in the wastewater stream as previously described for 24-96 hours (Corchis-Scott et al, 2021). After retrieval, samples were placed in sealed bags and spiked with a storage control if samples were to be stored for more than one day, Bovine Syncytial Respiratory Virus (BRSV) vaccine (Inforce 3, Zoetis Inc., Kalamazoo, MI).…”

“…The passive sampling methodology, the use of a commercial-grade tampon, was chosen for its simple design and inexpensive cost, and because it required minimal expertise to implement (Bivins et al,2021; Corchis-Scott et al, 2021). Sampling consists of placement of the tampon in the wastewater stream for a period of time, in our case, 24-96 hours.…”