Fight Against Coronavirus: Wastewater Testing For COVID-19

Washington: Accurately identifying changes in community COVID-19 infections through wastewater surveillance is moving closer to reality. A new study identifies a method that not only detects the virus in wastewater samples but also tracks whether the infection rates are trending up or down. The study was published in Environmental Science and Technology. Testing wastewater – a robust source of COVID-19 as that infected shed the virus in their stool – could be used for more responsive tracking and supplementing information public health officials rely on when evaluating efforts to contain the virus, such as enhanced public health measures and even vaccines when they become available.

Also Read: Centre Develops ‘Co-WIN’ App To Self-Register For COVID-19 Vaccine

The test works by identifying and measuring genetic material in the form of RNA from SARS-COV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19.

This work confirms that trends in concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater tracks with trends of new Covid-19 infections in the community. Wastewater data complements the data from clinical testing and may provide additional insight into COVID-19 infections within communities, said co-senior author Alexandria Boehm, a Stanford professor of civil and environmental engineering.

As the U.S. grapples with record-breaking daily transmission rates, obtaining more information to track surges and inform public health policies in local communities remains key to managing the deadly virus. COVID-19 can be particularly hard to track, with many asymptomatic or mild cases going undetected. Those who do get tested can still spread the infection before they receive test results, inhibiting quick identification, treatment and isolation to slow the spread. Faster identification of case spikes could allow local officials to act more quickly before the disease reaches a crucial tipping point where transmission becomes difficult to contain and hospitalizations overwhelm the local health system.

Tracking COVID-19 through wastewater surveillance of RNA is gaining steam across the country and could alert decision-makers about potential outbreaks days before individuals recognize symptoms of the virus. The viral RNA can be isolated from sewage in wastewater treatment facilities and identified through a complicated and highly technical recovery process, with the relative amounts in wastewater correlating to the number of cases. Anyone with a toilet connected to a sewer system could be depositing these biological samples on a regular basis, making wastewater sampling an inclusive source of information about COVID-19 in a community.

Also Read: Researchers Found New Method To Detect COVID-19 In Less Than Five Minutes

With this in mind, the researchers sought to advance the effectiveness and accuracy of wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 by comparing the ability to detect the virus in two forms of wastewater – a mostly liquid influent or a settled solid (sediment settled in a tank). Most current research focuses on influent samples; however, the team notes many viruses have an affinity for solids and expected higher concentrations of the virus in these samples, which could improve detection and consistency.

The researchers found the settled solid samples had higher concentrations and better detection of SARS-CoV-2 compared to the liquid versions. “These results confirmed our early thinking that targeting the solids in wastewater would lead to sensitive and reproducible measurements of COVID-19 in a community. This means that we can track upward trends when cases are still relatively low,” said co-senior author Krista Wigginton, an associate professor in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Michigan. Krista Wigginton and Boehm co-lead the research.

The researchers then tested about 100 settled solid samples from the San Jose-Santa Clara Regional Wastewater Facility from mid-March to mid-July 2020, tallying daily concentration numbers. Using statistical modeling they compared these concentrations with COVID-19 confirmed cases provided by the county. Their results tracked the trend of the county’s cases, decreasing in both May and June and peaking in July.

Also Read:  Latest Discovery Provides Hope For Early Detection Of Serious COVID-19

The research presents a possible way to identify new outbreaks, find hotspots, confirm the decrease of cases and inform public health interventions. As schools reopen, the technology could be implemented by districts to identify whether community virus circulation is decreasing. It also has the potential to be used in areas lacking the resources for robust individual clinical testing, such as testing sites in Illinois that reportedly closed early after running out of tests.

There are still pieces of information needed to better understand the limitations of wastewater testing and improve what can be gleaned, the researchers note. The virus’s rate of decay in wastewater, the extent and timeline of viral RNA shedding when sick and varying operations of different wastewater plants all have the potential to impact results. Future studies on these factors could lead to better insights about case trends.

The team is launching a new pilot this month to sample up to eight wastewater treatment plants within California daily, with a 24-hour turnaround time. The pilot aims to better understand what types of almost real-time data are useful to public health officials. Implementing the methods and framework developed by the team and pilot study could also be used in the future to monitor wastewater for pathogens beyond COVID-19 circulating within communities.

Also Read: Large US Study Confirms COVID-19 Complications Ranging From Lung, Kidney To Cardiovascular Issues

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

NDTV – Dettol Banega Swasth India campaign is an extension of the five-year-old Banega Swachh India initiative helmed by Campaign Ambassador Amitabh Bachchan. It aims to spread awareness about critical health issues facing the country. In wake of the current COVID-19 pandemic, the need for WASH (Water, Sanitation and Hygiene) is reaffirmed as handwashing is one of the ways to prevent Coronavirus infection and other diseases. The campaign highlights the importance of nutrition and healthcare for women and children to prevent maternal and child mortality, fight malnutrition, stunting, wasting, anaemia and disease prevention through vaccines. Importance of programmes like Public Distribution System (PDS), Mid-day Meal Scheme, POSHAN Abhiyan and the role of Aganwadis and ASHA workers are also covered. Only a Swachh or clean India where toilets are used and open defecation free (ODF) status achieved as part of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2014, can eradicate diseases like diahorrea and become a Swasth or healthy India. The campaign will continue to cover issues like air pollution, waste management, plastic ban, manual scavenging and sanitation workers and menstrual hygiene.