SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Wastewater Was Highly Correlated With the Number of COVID-19 Cases During the Fourth and Fifth Pandemic Wave in Kobe City, Japan

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the cause of the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and associated respiratory infections, has been detected in the feces of patients. Therefore, determining SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in sewage may help to predict the number of infected people within the area. In this study, we quantified SARS-CoV-2 RNA copy number using reverse transcription quantitative real-time PCR with primers and probes targeting the N gene, which allows the detection of both wild-type and variant strain of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage samples from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in Kobe City, Japan, during the fourth and fifth pandemic waves of COVID-19 between February 2021 and October 2021. The wastewater samples were concentrated via centrifugation, yielding a pelleted solid fraction and a supernatant, which was subjected to polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation. The SARS-CoV-2 RNA was significantly and frequently detected in the solid fraction than in the PEG-precipitated fraction. In addition, the copy number in the solid fraction was highly correlated with the number of COVID-19 cases in the WWTP basin (WWTP-A: r = 0.8205, p < 0.001; WWTP-B: r = 0.8482, p < 0.001). The limit of capturing COVID-19 cases per 100,000 people was 0.75 cases in WWTP-A and 1.20 cases in WWTP-B, respectively. Quantitative studies of RNA in sewage can be useful for administrative purposes related to public health, including issuing warnings and implementing preventive measures within sewage basins.

Reduction of SARS-CoV-2 by biological nutrient removal and disinfection processes in full-scale wastewater treatment plants

“…2 b). The concentration range of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater observed in the present study is consistent with those from previous studies in Japan ( Ando et al, 2022 ; Hata et al, 2021 ; Kitamura et al, 2021 ; Wang et al, 2022 ; Tanimoto et al, 2022 ). No significant correlations were observed between SARS-CoV-2 titers in grab and composite samples ( Fig.…”

Wastewater-Based Surveillance of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Epidemic at the National Level in Finland

“…The correlation between viral RNA in wastewater and disease cases, as well as the capability of WBS to predict cases, has also been shown with other viruses in addition to RSV. Multiple studies have shown that the amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater is correlated with the number of COVID-19 disease cases. − The correlation between wastewater and clinical cases has also been found for the influenza virus. ,, In Finland in the same WWTPs, the correlation coefficient of influenza A RNA in wastewater and the incidence of influenza A (CC = 0.427–0.870) were shown to be similar to the RSV correlation measured in our study (CC = 0.412–0.865) . The study was conducted using the same WWTPs used in this study.…”

Wastewater-based surveillance of respiratory syncytial virus epidemic at the national level in Finland

“…The correlation between viral RNA in wastewater and disease cases, as well as the capability of WBS to predict cases, have also been shown with other viruses, in addition to RSV. Multiple studies have shown that the amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater is correlated with the number of COVID-19 disease cases (Acosta et al, 2023; Tanimoto et al, 2022; Wani et al, 2023; Wolfe et al, 2021; Zhan et al, 2022). The correlation between wastewater and clinical cases has also been found for the influenza virus (Boehm et al, 2022; Wolfe et al, 2022; Wolken et al, 2023).…”