Implementing building-level SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance on a university campus

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has been a source of ongoing challenges and presents an increased risk of illness in group environments, including jails, long-term care facilities, schools, and residential college campuses. Early reports that the SARS-CoV-2 virus was detectable in wastewater in advance of confirmed cases sparked widespread interest in wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as a tool for mitigation of COVID-19 outbreaks. One hypothesis was that wastewater surveillance might provide a cost-effective alternative to other more expensive approaches such as pooled and random testing of groups. In this paper, we report the outcomes of a wastewater surveillance pilot program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, a large urban university with a substantial population of students living in on-campus dormitories. Surveillance was conducted at the building level on a thrice-weekly schedule throughout the university's fall residential semester. In multiple cases, wastewater surveillance enabled the identification of asymptomatic COVID-19 cases that were not detected by other components of the campus monitoring program, which also included in-house contact tracing, symptomatic testing, scheduled testing of student athletes, and daily symptom reporting. In the context of all cluster events reported to the University community during the fall semester, wastewater-based testing events resulted in the identification of smaller clusters than were reported in other types of cluster events. Wastewater surveillance was able to detect single asymptomatic individuals in dorms with resident populations of 150–200. While the strategy described was developed for COVID-19, it is likely to be applicable to mitigation of future pandemics in universities and other group-living environments.

A novel passive sampling approach for SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater in a Canadian province with low prevalence of COVID-19

“…Consideration of the challenges of each sampling approach is critical for developing effective wastewater monitoring programs, which could become increasingly more relevant as vaccination programs begin to take shape globally. 21,22 A passive sampling approach provides a cost effective and relatively easy option to grab and composite sampling. This approach involves the use of a passive sampling device which is deployed at a location in the sewershed for a predetermined period, and contaminants in the wastewater are allowed to interact with an adsorbent material housed inside the device, 23,24 which results in the concentration of the virus.…”

Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 on College Campuses: Initial Efforts, Lessons Learned, and Research Needs

“…Despite such challenges, many respondents remained positive about the potential for wastewater surveillance to enhance colleges’ pandemic responses. Several colleges have produced case study articles about their experiences that highlight the effectiveness of wastewater surveillance as part of a larger strategy for controlling COVID-19 transmission on campus, and particularly about the opportunity for identifying people with asymptomatic infections [ 2 , 50 , 51 ]. Although comparison to the counterfactual is not possible (i.e., we cannot know whether case rates would have differed without wastewater monitoring), many respondents reported that they believed it was helpful.…”

Prevalence of previous infection with SARS-CoV-2 and persistent symptoms at a large university

“…Measures like mandatory vaccination for students, faculty and staff, 17 testing of sewage for antigen to SARS-CoV-2, 18 and regular testing of the entire population 19 are more likely to be effective. While many students have antibodies due to previous infection, it is not clear how durable that immunity is.…”