SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in medical and industrial wastewater—a global perspective: a narrative review

Abstract

The novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 has spread at an unprecedented rate since late 2019, leading to the global COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, being able to detect SARS-CoV-2 in human populations with high coverage quickly is a huge challenge. As SARS-CoV-2 is excreted in human excreta and thus exposed to the aqueous environment through sewers, the goal is to develop an ideal, non-invasive, cost-effective epidemiological method for detecting SARS-CoV-2. Wastewater surveillance has gained widespread interest and is increasingly being investigated as an effective early warning tool for monitoring the spread and evolution of the virus. This review emphasizes important findings on SARS-CoV-2 wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) in different continents and techniques used to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater during the period 2020–2022. The results show that WBE is a valuable population-level method for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 and is a valuable early warning alert. It can assist policymakers in formulating relevant policies to avoid the negative impacts of early or delayed action. Such strategy can also help avoid unnecessary wastage of medical resources, rationalize vaccine distribution, assist early detection, and contain large-scale outbreaks.

Wastewater surveillance of antibiotic resistant bacteria for public health action: Potential and Challenges

“…Wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 has proven benefit (13). Wastewater provides an estimate of the population prevalence of all SARS-CoV-2 cases -symptomatic and asymptomatic -and provides an early warning of the emergence and spread of new variants complementing data obtained from clinical surveillance.…”

What are the missing pieces needed to stop antibiotic resistance?

“…There is a huge abundance of clinically irrelevant, hidden epidemics of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. Nevertheless, recent experience tracking the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater treatment plants (Yang et al, 2023), suggests that the analysis of these installations might be useful for detecting said hidden epidemics, because the resistome of wastewater treatment plants reflect those of the hospitals they serve (Pärnänen et al, 2019). At larger levels (for instance at country level) it is difficult that surveillance values could lead to particular interventions.…”

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater Associated with Scientific Stations in Antarctica and Possible Risk for Wildlife

“…The detection of SARS-CoV-2 in this type of sample has been extensively documented in the scientific literature [8][9][10][11]. Currently, measuring and quantifying the SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater has been established as an effective surveillance measure [12,13]. Once the virus enters wastewater due to its release in the feces and secretions of infected individuals, its persistence in water is limited, as it undergoes accelerated degradation processes, especially in the marine environment [14][15][16].…”