FACTORS AFFECTING THE INTENTION TO STRENGTHEN PROTECTION AGAINST INFECTION BASED ON INFORMATION ABOUT ITS PREDICTED SPREAD—A CASE STUDY OF COVID-19—

Since the pandemic of COVID-19, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for monitoring and predicting spread of infectious diseases has been intensively studied and its feasibility has been evaluated all over the world. The WBE has a potential to reduce the number of infections by early warning of its spread to enhance countermeasures at both public (e.g. lock-down and vaccination campaign) and individual (e.g. avoiding closed spaces, crowded places and close contact settings) levels. In this paper, to clarify the factors affecting the individual intentions to strengthen protection against infection based on information about its spread predicted by the WBE, questionnaire surveys were conducted for residents of Sendai and Osaka cities, Japan and the obtained data were analyzed by t-tests and the covariance structure model. As a result, the group that was provided with information on the predicted spread of infection, showing the increase of infections in the next week, was generally more willing to strengthen protection measures against COVID-19 than the group that was provided with the number of infections newly reported at the time of the survey. It was also revealed that those with high levels of trust in provided information and recommended countermeasures had high respect for social norms and firm intention to strengthen protection measures both directly and indirectly. In particular, if neither they nor their families are at a high risk of infection, reliable information on COVID-19 spread was suggested to enhance receivers' respects for social norms and consequently motivate their intentions to strengthen protection measures.Alternate :抄録　下水モニタリングによる感染拡大予測情報の発信サイトが宮城県仙台市にて運用されている．COVID-19での活用を想定し，同情報に基づく感染対策強化意思に影響を与える要因を明らかにするため，仙台市と大阪市の住民を対象にアンケート調査を実施し，平均値の差の検定および共分散構造分析を実施した．　その結果，感染拡大予測情報を提示された集団は概ね調査実施時点での新規感染者数を提示された集団よりもCOVID-19の感染対策強化意思が強いことが明らかとなった．また，情報・対策を信頼している人は社会的規範意識が高く，直接的および間接的に対策強化意思が強いことも明らかになった．特に，回答者自身もしくは同居者が高リスクではない場合，信頼性の高い情報は社会的規範意識を高め，対策強化意思の向上に繋がることが示唆された．

Quality of Life and Factors Affecting It: A Study Among People Living Near a Solid Waste Management Facility.

Background: The amount of waste generated has been increasing over the years. Meanwhile, the capacity of solid waste management facilities (SWMFs) for waste disposal does not meet the needs, resulting in adverse consequences on the natural environment and health of residents living near these plants, which can significantly degrade their quality of life (QoL). This study aims to evaluate the QoL of residents living near an SWMF and the potential impacts it has on the residents. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted involving 801 subjects, aged 18 and above, who live near the SWMF of Hue City, Vietnam. The QoL of the subjects was quantitatively assessed using the WHO QoL assessment scale (WHOQOL-BREF). The general, health, and environmental factors influencing QoL were identified using bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Results: About 22.6% of the subjects had a good QoL. In particular, the proportions for good psychological health (6.9%) and environment (13.6%) were low, indicating an influence of the SWMF. Significant factors that degraded the QoL of residents were less education defined by not graduating from high school (odds ratio, OR = 2.78; 95% CI = 1.09-7.06), poor health status (OR = 2.50; 95% CI: 1.56-4.01), dissatisfaction with water quality (OR = 2.41; 95% CI: 1.10-5.25), and unacceptance of the SWMF presence (OR = 1.70; 95% CI: 1.11-2.60). Moreover, subjects living within 2 km of the plant had dermatological diseases and digestive disorders more frequently than those who lived away from the plant. They also reported more complaints regarding water, air, and soil quality, which were likely due to the operation of the SWMF. Conclusions: Burying and disposing of solid waste at the SWMF might lead to the degradation of the surrounding water and soil environments, and its collection and transportation are considered to cause odor and dust. The efforts of responsible authorities to strictly supervise and inspect these activities at the SWMF are essential, not only to protect the surrounding environment but also to improve the QoL of those who live nearby these plants.

Possible transmission of viruses from contaminated human feces and sewage: Implications for SARS-CoV-2.

Humanity has experienced outbreaks by viruses such as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 1 (SARS-CoV-1) in 2003, Eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in 2012, Ebola virus in 2014 and nowadays SARS-CoV-2. While clinicians seek for a vaccine to reduce the epidemic outbreak, environmental engineers need to understand consequence of virus entity in sewage given the reported persistency of viruses in human feces and sewage environments for more than days. Herein, we discuss about concerns associated with virus occurrence in human feces and sewage, with attention to the possible SARS-CoV-2 transmission routes, based on the review of recent studies on SARS-CoV-2 as well as the previous pandemic events. Given the reported environmental stability of coronavirus, the feces- and sewage-derived transmission routes may be of importance to prevent unprecedented spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) particularly in developing countries. However, so far, limited number of studies detected infectious SARS-CoV-2 even in human feces, whereas a number of virus RNA copies were identified in both feces and sewage specimens. Therefore, uncertainty remains in the possibility of this transmission pathway, and further investigation is warranted in future studies, for example, by increasing the number of specimens, examining the effectiveness of methods for viral viability test, considering the patient medical history, and so forth.

Frontier review on the propensity and repercussion of SARS-CoV-2 migration to aquatic environment.

Increased concern has recently emerged pertaining to the occurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in aquatic environment during the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While infectious SARS-CoV-2 has yet to be identified in the aquatic environment, the virus potentially enters the wastewater stream from patient excretions and a precautionary approach dictates evaluating transmission pathways to ensure public health and safety. Although enveloped viruses have presumed low persistence in water and are generally susceptible to inactivation by environmental stressors, previously identified enveloped viruses persist in the aqueous environment from days to several weeks. Our analysis suggests that not only the surface water, but also groundwater, represent SARS-CoV-2 control points through possible leaching and infiltrations of effluents from health care facilities, sewage, and drainage water. Most fecally transmitted viruses are highly persistent in the aquatic environment, and therefore, the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in water is essential to inform its fate in water, wastewater and groundwater and subsequent human exposure.