First detection of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in the vicinity of COVID-19 isolation Centre in Bangladesh: Variation along the sewer network

Abstract

We made the first and successful attempt to detect SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in the vicinity wastewaters of an isolation centre i.e. Shaheed Bhulu Stadium, situated at Noakhali. Owing to the fact that isolation centre, in general, always contained a constant number of 200 COVID-19 patients, the prime objective of the study was to check if several drains carrying RNA of coronavirus are actually getting diluted or accumulated along with the sewage network. Our finding suggested that while the temporal variation of the genetic load decreased in small drains over the span of 50 days, the main sewer exhibited accumulation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Other interesting finding displays that probably distance of sampling location in meters is not likely to have a significant impact on gene detection concentration, although the quantity of the RNA extracted in the downstream of the drain was higher. These findings are of immense value from the perspective of wastewater surveillance of COVID-19, as they largely imply that we do not need to monitor every wastewater system, and probably major drains monitoring may illustrate the city health. Perhaps, we are reporting the accumulation of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material along with the sewer network i.e. from primary to tertiary drains. The study sought further data collection in this line to simulate conditions prevailed in the most of developing countries and to shed further light on decay/accumulation processes of the genetic load of the SARS-COV-2.

Monitoring the presence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in water-food-environmental compartments: State of the knowledge and research needs

“…Some authors have also reported the presence of SARS-CoV-2 strains in the wastewater generated from the isolation centers and nearby hospitals where COVID-19 patients are being managed (J. Wang et al, 2020 ; Ge et al, 2020 ; Feng et al, 2021 ; Chakraborty et al, 2021 ; Ahmed et al, 2021 ; Hong et al, 2021 ), while others studies reported the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in water and wastewater collected from wastewater treatment plants ( Ahmed et al, 2020a ; La Rosa et al, 2020 ; Hasan et al, 2020 ; Haramoto et al, 2020 ; Mlejnkova et al, 2020 ; Peccia et al, 2020 ; Randazzo et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2020 ; Rimoldi et al, 2020 ; Medema et al, 2020 ; Hokajärvi et al, 2021 ; Chavarria-Miró et al, 2021 ; Kitamura et al, 2021 ; Saguti et al, 2021 ), which are of course do not necessarily indicate the infectivity of the virus ( Buonerba et al, 2021 ). However, few studies have reported the detection and isolation of infectious SARS-CoV-2 from different environmental samples such as wastewaters ( Bivins et al, 2020 ; Lee et al, 2020 ; Sala-Comorera et al, 2021 ).…”

Wastewater Based Epidemiology Perspective as a Faster Protocol for Detecting Coronavirus RNA in Human Populations: A Review with Specific Reference to SARS-CoV-2 Virus

“…Researchers have achieved the identification of SARS-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA) in different wastewater samples in Netherlands, Australia, France, Brazil, New Zealand, the USA, Japan, and Canada [ 7 , 12 ]. For instance, presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA has been confirmed in hospital and municipal wastewaters [ 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Therefore, the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline has been stated for the good management of wastewater [ 16 ].…”

“…The trend of the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA analyzed by RT-qPCR testing in wastewater in these countries was matched by the number of new daily COVID-19 positive cases. Bangladesh (Noakhali, from 10 July to 29 August) was entered into the club when viral RNA (75.0% (12/16 samples)) in sewage waste tanks, passage drains, and toilets was detected [ 13 ]. Finally, in Pakistan (Islamabad, from March to April), the viral RNA detection was 27% (21/78 samples) in the sewage network [ 78 ].…”

“…VIRADEL has been adopted as a standard method “US EPA Method 1623: Cryptosporidium and Giardia in Water by Filtration/IMS/FA” by US EPA [ 118 ]. In few studies, ENMF with/without support with MgCl 2 was used and suggested as a suitable concentration technique for the WBE SARS-CoV-2 surveillance [ 13 , 71 , 83 , 119 ]. Only one study performed this technique to concentrate SARS-CoV-2 RNA from wastewater using an electropositive NanoCeram column filter [ 119 ].…”

“…Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material is the last and the utmost important step of a molecular assay. RT-PCR and RT-qPCR have been globally accepted as standard methods for quantifying RNA viruses [ 13 , 62 , 124 , 125 , 126 ]. These molecular tests offer high sensitivity and specificity.…”