Wastewater-based prediction of COVID-19 cases using a highly sensitive SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection method combined with mathematical modeling

Influence of membrane pore-size on the recovery of endogenous viruses from wastewater using an adsorption-extraction method

“…To prevent this potential bias, we measured four indigenous viruses in our study instead of relying on virus seeding experiments. We assessed the recovery efficiencies of the AE method for concentrating crAssphage and PMMoV, which were found to be high and generally consistent with previous research (Ahmed et al, 2020; Ando et al, 2023 ).…”

“…The AE method offers several benefits. Firstly, it is expected to have a high efficiency in capturing viruses due to the ability of the membrane to adsorb virus particles from both the liquid and solid fractions of wastewater, as has been demonstrated in previous research studies (Ahmed et al, 2020; Ando et al, 2023 a). Secondly, the volume of the sample processed can be easily increased to 100-150 mL, in comparison to other virus concentration methods, such as Nanotrap® Magnetic Virus Particles and centrifugal UF concentration (Ahmed et al, 2020; Ahmed et al, 2023b ).…”

“…During the present study, we deliberately selected a comparatively small sample size (i.e., 10 mL) of wastewater to comprehensively evaluate the effect of three membrane pore sizes (i.e., 0.22, 0.45, and 0.80 µm) on indigenous virus capture. The membrane pore size of 0.45 µm is conventionally used in the AE method for analyzing wastewater samples for enteric, respiratory, and indicator viruses (Ahmed et al, 2020; Ando et al, 2023 ; Ahmed et al, 2023a ; Ahmed et al, 2023d). Our experimental design aimed to assess if the decreased pore size of 0.22 µm would bolster the AE method’s performance, and if the increased pore size of 0.80 µm would have the converse effect.…”

“…The AE method is simple and rapid and has been shown to effectively recover a wide range of viruses, including both enveloped and non-enveloped DNA and RNA viruses, without requiring specialized equipment or highly trained personnel ( Ahmed et al, 2021 , Kongprajug et al, 2021 , Miura et al, 2021 , Ando et al, 2023 a). Most AE methods described in research literature used a 0.45-μm pore size membrane to capture viruses from a small volume (e.g., 50) of wastewater (La Turner et al, 2021; Ahmed et al, 2023c ).…”

Simulation of COVID-19 Epidemic from Potential Viral Loads in Saudi Arabian Wastewater Treatment Plants

“…Without intensive clinical surveillance, WBE can estimate coronavirus and other important disease transmission parameters in the community in addition to monitoring trends. In the absence of clinical surveillance, the mathematical model and the data on viral shedding in wastewater can be an effective tool for COVID-19 prediction [39].…”