Building-level wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 is associated with transmission and variant trends in a university setting

Comparison of the methods for isolation and detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in municipal wastewater

“…In fact, the predictions of viral transmission dynamics based on such data are resistant to changes in the behavior of the public (e.g., testing practices, healthcare-seeking behavior, etc.) ( 19 ). On the other hand, certain limitations like environmental conditions (e.g., actual water temperature, dilution of wastewater due to the increased rainfall, the intermittent presence of chemical compounds that can act as PCR inhibitors, and sampling design) can potentially affect the results of WBE ( 12 ).…”

SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater consistently predicts trends in COVID-19 case counts by at least two days across multiple WWTP scales

“…The samples were then homogenized for 10 min using laboratory blenders and 250 mL of homogenized wastewater was decanted into centrifuge bottles. The procedure for determining the optimal homogenization method has been described in a previous study ( Sellers et al, 2022 ). The samples were centrifuged using an Avanti® J-E Centrifuge (Beckman Coulter Lifesciences, Indianapolis, Indiana) with a JS-5.3 rotor for 30 min at 4,577 g and 4 ˚C without braking.…”

“…Since SARS-CoV-2 is shed in feces ( Zhang et al, 2020 ) and trends in concentration often precede clinical data ( Wu et al, 2022 ), wastewater surveillance has emerged at the forefront of these techniques, complementing clinical data, and providing an early warning of the presence of variants of concern ( Rios et al, 2021 ; Swift et al, 2021 ; Vo et al, 2022 ). Surveillance efforts take place at multiple scales: building or facility ( Gibas et al, 2021 ; Scott et al, 2021 ; Sellers et al, 2022 ; Vo et al, 2022 ), neighborhood ( Ahmed et al, 2021 ; Haak et al, 2022 ; Rios et al, 2021 ), and city or wastewater treatment plant ( Gonzalez et al, 2020 ; Smyth et al, 2022 ; Swift et al, 2021 ). The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention established a national wastewater surveillance system (NWSS) to track SARS-CoV-2 levels in wastewater nationwide to better inform community decisions to minimize the spread of COVID-19 ( Kirby et al, 2021 ).…”

Wastewater tiling amplicon sequencing in sentinel sites reveals longitudinal dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 variants prevalence

“…It has been adopted as a notional surveillance program worldwide, such as in the US, Australia, and Europe in response to COVID-19 ( Ahmed et al, 2020 ; La Rosa et al, 2020 ; Li et al, 2022 ; Sherchan et al, 2020 ). The application of PCR-based methods has facilitated WBE in monitoring the disease prevalence in communities and providing early warnings of disease outbreaks before clinical surveillance ( Corchis-Scott et al, 2021 ; Medema et al, 2020 ; Sellers et al, 2022 ). However, mutations or degradation in N gene, the commonly targeted PCR primer binding region, will reduce the primer binding efficiency.…”