Detection and quantification of sars-cov-2 wastewater treatment plants from different cities in chile, towards to a permanent sentinel surveillance.

Background: The quantification of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is a tool that allows determining the trend of viral circulation in a particular geographical area. Aim(s): To quantify the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 15 wastewater treatment plants in different Chilean cities to establish a comparison with the variables of: I) Active cases per 100,000 inhabitants;ii) daily positivity (novel cases);and iii) phases of the lockdown strategy. Method(s): SARS-CoV-2 was concentrated from wastewater samples. To obtain the number of virus genomes per liter, absolute quantification was performed using qRT-PCR. Result(s): Between January and June 2021, 253 samples were processed, all of which were positive for the presence of the virus. Likewise, it will be determined that the rate of active cases per 100,000 inhabitants is the variable that best fits the trends obtained with the quantification of the viral load in wastewater. Conclusion(s): The quantification of SARS- CoV-2 in wastewater as a continuous strategy is an efficient tool to determine the trend of the viral circulation in a delimited geographical area and, combined with genomic surveillance, it can constitute an ideal sentinel surveillance alert on future outbreaks.Copyright © 2022, Sociedad Chilena de Infectologia. All rights reserved.

Hiv Detection in Wastewater as a New Epidemiological Tool

Background: Wastewater represents a broad, immediate, and unbiased accounting of the pathgens in the population. We aimed to develop methods to track HIV in wastewater utilizing a viral detection pipeline adapted from platforms developed to track SARS-COV-2. Method(s): We used samples from 6 wastewater treatment plants in the Houston area. We focused on regions of higher prevalence and lower prevalence. First, employing wastewater processing and nucleic acid extraction methods described by our group to detect SARS-COV-2, we tested a single high and low prevalence site in triplicate with all 3 primer sets. nucleic acid extracts from HIV and SIV cell culture supernatants were used as controls. Next, in subsequent samples, RT-PCR reactions with detections were subjected to gel electrophoresis to determine the amplified product sizes. To further confirm HIV detection, we sequenced the RT-PCR products and compared the proportion of reads which mapped to the expected amplified product. In a later set of studies, we fractionated samples into supernatant and pellet. We further tested HIV presence by performing whole virome sequencing on the extracts from some samples that produced detections and mapped reads to published genomes. A crAssphage genome was used as a negative control. Result(s): Samples from all sites resulted in signal detection at least once. Only reactions with gag and pol primers appeared to amplify the expected product. Products from the HIV positive control mapped almost exclusively to the HIV genome (97-100% of reads), with a fraction of reads from the SIV negative control doing the same (16-18% of reads). The ltr and pol products did not map the HIV genome while gag products did (34-44% of reads). Among the fractionated sample, in total, 6 supernatant fractions produced no detection compared to 7 of 8 pellet fractions. The whole virome sequencing produced reads that mapped to the HIV genome with at least 8X depth coverage. The sample with the lowest Ct detection (26) yielded HIV coverage several logs greater than those samples with higher Ct detection (37). Reads from all samples mapped to at least 20% of the HIV genome. Conclusion(s): This work provides the first evidence that HIV can be detected in municipal wastewater systems and has the potential to be developed into a new public health tool.

Production efficiency and economic benefit evaluation of biohydrogen produced using macroalgae as a biomass feedstock in Asian circular economies

This study uses three data envelopment analysis models to determine the production efficiency of biohydrogen which is produced from macroalgae and other sources by dark fermentation. The efficiency of macroalgae is greatest in batch mode for S. Japonica using a sDFMEC process at pH 5.3, 35 degrees C, 1 g COD/L and a hydrogen production rate (HPR) of 0.34 L/L/h. The highest efficiency is using an internal circulation batch reactor in continuous mode for beverage waste water. The HPR and substrate concentration are the most important factor of biohydrogen efficiency, and efficiency and temperature are the most important factors of HPR. Malaysia and India are the two economies that most benefit from increased production efficiency due to the use of macroalgae. Increasing biohydrogen yield efficiency will improve macroeconomic growth and establish a renewable hydrogen and biohydrogen industry, which is especially efficient related to the economic recovery during the COVID-19 pandemic. (c) 2021 Hydrogen Energy Publications LLC. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Managing emerging pathogen risks in recycled water

The COVID-19 pandemic raised the public profile of wastewater-based infectious disease monitoring. General media coverage about wastewater detection of SARS-CoV-2 (the COVID-19 coronavirus) increased community awareness of the potential use of wastewater for the detection and surveillance of emerging diseases and also heightened recognition of the potential for wastewater to harbour and convey a variety of pathogens. This has also generated questions about the potential public health impacts of emerging pathogens, such as SARS-CoV-2 and mpox, in sewage and recycled water. To ensure water security in an era of climate change, water recycling is increasingly important in Australia and other water-stressed nations and managing disease risks in integrated water management is thus of critical importance. This paper demonstrates the existing risk management provisions for recycled water and explores potential issues posed by novel and emerging pathogens. First, a synopsis of some key emerging and re-emerging human pathogens is presented and the risks associated with these pathogens in the context of recycled water provision is considered. Then, an overview of the engineered treatment systems and regulatory framework used to manage these emerging risks in Australia is presented, together with a discusion of how emerging pathogen risks can be managed to ensure safe recycled water supply now and into the future.

Selected pharmaceutical analysis in a wastewater treatment plant during COVID-19 infection waves in South Africa

Globally, an extensive range of pharmaceuticals are consumed daily to treat a variety of illnesses and diseases. Since the occurrence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus (COVID-19) outbreak, the use of pharmaceuticals has increased drastically in order to treat and prevent infection. Studies have shown that pharmaceutical usage is largely dependent on seasonal temperatures. This was explored in the present study and was verified by the results obtained. Versatile solid phase extraction (SPE) and liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) methods were developed and validated for the accurate detection of target pharmaceuticals. Method percentage recoveries ranged from 73.53-100.70%, while the limit of detection (LOD) and limit of quantification (LOQ) ranged from 0.0330-0.886 mg L−1 and 0.0990-2.68 mg L−1, respectively. Resulting concentrations of pharmaceuticals used to treat chronic ailments such as diabetes, hypertension, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS showed consistent daily usage while pharmaceuticals used for the treatment of COVID-19 and influenza showed distinct seasonal trends. Concentrations obtained for sulfamethoxazole hydroxylamine and sulfamethoxazole ranged from 0.05215-0.3438 mg L−1 and 0.009818-0.3002 mg L−1, respectively, while concentrations quantified for prednisolone and ivermectin ranged from 0.008775-0.4482 mg L−1 and 0.008520-0.979 mg L−1, respectively. Trends also directly correlated with the total number of active COVID-19 cases experienced in South Africa during sampling periods and this was confirmed using a one-way ANOVA test. P-values obtained for sulfamethoxazole hydroxylamine, sulfamethoxazole and ivermectin were below 0.05. © 2023 The Royal Society of Chemistry.

Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 associated with wastewater treatment: a seroprevalence study

The detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during wastewater treatment leads to concerns about whether this process may represent a focal point for the transmission of COVID-19. An epidemiological analysis, based on a COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Cassette, performed on 134 wastewater workers from 59 wastewater treatment plants from the province of Granada (Spain) showed a seroprevalence of 8.95% in IgG for SARS-CoV-2, which is similar to the incidence rate found for the general population of the province (9.6%;95%CI = 7.2-12.8). These findings suggest that current safety measures are sufficient for the protection of workers against SARS-CoV-2.

Remove of triclosan from aqueous solutions by nanoflower MnO2: insight into the mechanism of oxidation and adsorption

Triclosan (TCS) has been proved to have a harmful effect on human health and ecological environment, especially during the COVID-19 epidemic, when plentiful antibacterial hand sanitizers were discharged. Manganese dioxide (MnO2) showed a good effect on the removal of TCS. The morphology of MnO2 was regulated in this study to increase the active sites for removing TCS and improve the removal effect. The results showed that nanoflower T-MnO2 exhibited best removal efficiency due to its high oxygen vacancy, high Mn3+ content, easily released lattice oxygen and unique tunnel structure which make its Mn-O bond easier to activate. Further study of the mechanism revealed that the process of removing TCS by MnO2 was the first adsorption and then oxidation process and the detailed reaction process was clarified. 3-chlorophenol and 2,4-dichlorophenol were proved to be their oxidative product. Additionally, it was verified that oxidation dominated in the removal of TCS by MnO2 rather than adsorption through Density functional theory (DFT) calculations analysis. It is determined that nanoflower MnO2 was a promising material for removing TCS.

Facile fabrication of phenylenediamine residue derived N, O co-doped hierarchical hyperporous carbon for high-efficient chloroxylenol removal

The chloroxylenol (PCMX) has shown well virucidal efficacy against COVID-19, but the large-scale utilization of which will undoubtedly pose extra environmental threaten. In the present study, the recycled industrial phenylenediamine residue was used and an integrated strategy of "carbonization-casting-activation" using super low-dose of activator and templates was established to achieve in-situ N/O co-doping and facile synthesis of a kind of hierarchical hyperporous carbons (HHPC). The sample of HHPC-1.25-0.5 obtained with activator and template to residue of 1.25 and 0.5 respectively shows super-high specific surface area of 3602 m2/g and volume of 2.81 cm3/g and demonstrates remarkable adsorption capacity of 1475 mg/g for PCMX in batch and of 1148 mg/g in dynamic column adsorption test. In addition, the HHPC-1.25-0.5 exhibits excellent reusability and tolerance for PCMX adsorption under various ionic backgrounds and real water matrix conditions. The combined physio-chemistry characterization, kinetic study and DFT calculation reveal that the enhanced high performances originate from the hierarchical pore structure and strong electrostatic interaction between PCMX and surface rich pyridinic-N and carbonyl groups.

Impact of Coronavirus spread prevention actions on sewage quantity and quality

Spread prevention actions (SPAs) during Coronavirus pandemic period, such as increased hand-washing, temporary lock-downs, preventions in transportation, and the reduction of recreational and industrial activities may change the routines in social behaviors. Accordingly, SPAs can be effective on the quality and quantity of raw municipal wastewater. This research evaluates the aforementioned hypothesis and recommends solutions for the proper operation of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). Methods: For this purpose, the quantity and quality of sewage in 23 municipal WWTPs in Isfahan province, as the study area, were surveyed and compared from 2015 to 2020. SPSS software (version 23) was used for statistical analysis. Results: Results indicated that the annual growth rate of sewage discharged in the spring and summer of 2020 (period of SPAs) in the study area is 24% more than the average of annual growth rate in long-term (2015-2019). This increase is 45% in small WWTPs, while it is only 5% in large WWTPs. Results also revealed that the concentration of chemical oxidation demand (COD) of sewage was reduced 24% on average in this period. In addition, the biodegradability of wastewater is increased in large WWTPs mainly due to the decrease of industrial activities. Conclusion: Therefore, SPAs in the pandemic period of Coronavirus could increase the quantity of municipal wastewater and reduce its COD concentrations. These variations may provide more appropriate operational conditions for waste stabilization ponds rather than activated sludge units.

SARS-CoV-2 RNA abundance in wastewater as a function of distinct urban sewershed size

During the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater-based epidemiology has emerged as a promising approach for monitoring SARS-CoV-2 prevalence on a community-level. Despite much being known about the utility of making these measurements in large wastewater treatment plants, little is known about the correlation with finer geographic resolution, such as those obtained through sewershed sub-area catchments. This study aims to identify community wastewater surveillance characteristics between sewershed areas that affect the strength of the association of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in a metropolitan area. For this, wastewater from 17 sewershed areas were sampled in Louisville/Jefferson County, Kentucky (USA), from August 2020 to April 2021 (N = 727), which covered approximately 97% of the county's households. Solids were collected from the treatment plants from November 2020 to December 2020 (N = 42). Our results indicate that the sewersheds differ in SARS-CoV-2 trends;however, high pairwise correlation spatial trends were not observed, and the mean SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations of smaller upstream community sewershed areas did not differ from their respective treatment centers. Solid samples could only be collected at treatment plants, therefore not allowing us to evaluate SARS-CoV-2 abundance as a function of the sewershed scale. The population size sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 concentration detection is non-linear: at low population levels the measures are either too sensitive and generate a high level of variability, or at high population levels the estimates are dampened making small changes in community infection levels more difficult to discern. Our results suggest selecting sampling sites that include a wide population range. This study and its findings may inform other system-wide strategies for sampling wastewater for estimating non-SARS-CoV-2 targets.

Covid-19 Monitoring Using Wastewater-Based Epidemiology: The Promise and Peril of Seeking Useable Data in a Pandemic

We evaluated sampling design in wastewater-based epidemiology to monitor SARS-CoV-2 RNA signal, with a focus on sampling site selection. Sampling in wastewater collection systems ranged from locations that were highly granular (i.e., individual buildings) to large wastewater treatment plants with city-scale catchments. Potential data uses and major considerations for each sampling method are discussed. Our study demonstrates sampling at varying degrees of granularity to be viable tools for pandemic response, with both sampling location and data applicability varying significantly based on location type sampled. Wastewater treatment plant data allows for population level trending that provides an early warning sign of increased disease burden community wide. Sampling at individual buildings can facilitate a direct public health response through follow-up patient testing and/or providing early warning to allow an employer to respond to an outbreak at a warehouse or work camp. Sampling within the wastewater collection system presents a novel epidemiologic tool that could allow for early warning of neighbourhood outbreaks to inform local pandemic response(s) and enable case-finding. © 2023, Canadian Society for Civil Engineering.

Establishing a national SARS-CoV-2 surveillance network across South Africa to support wastewaterbased genomic and epidemiological monitoring of the COVID pandemic, 2020-2021

Introduction/ Background: Findings from wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 are increasingly used to monitor the epidemiology of SARS-CoV-2. We report on the findings from the South African Collaboration COVID-19 Environmental Surveillance System (SACCESS) laboratories and compare these with clinically obtained data. Methods: Wastewater grab or passive samples and underwent concentration, RNA extraction, reverse-transcriptasepolymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) detection and quantification of SARS-CoV-2. Following whole genome amplicon-based sequencing, nonsynonymous mutations in the spike protein specific to variants of concern (VOCs) were identified. Quantitative RNA concentrations in genome copies/mL and the read-frequencies of lineagespecific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2 were plotted alongside official case load and SARS-Cov-2 lineage distribution by epidemiological week (provided by NICD SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology team and the Centre for Respiratory Diseases and Meningitis of the NICD). Results: Results from 95 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) across 9 provinces and all eight metropolitan areas of South Africa were collected weekly, biweekly or monthly from June 2020-October 2021 illustrate that increases and decreases in SARSCoV- 2 concentrations at all sites corresponded to metro-specific timing of the peak and post-peak decline in clinical cases. Increases in SARS-CoV-2 concentrations consistently preceded increases in clinical cases. In 18 WWTPs genomic analysis detected SNPs corresponding to prevalent VOCs and documented the change from beta to delta variant over the third SARS-CoV-2 wave. Impact: Without sufficient evidence that WBE findings correspond with clinical epidemiology and genomic results, public health authorities are often reluctant to use these data to guide decision making. Our findings illustrated that WBE monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 and detection of SNPs specific to SARS-CoV-2 variants correspond with clinical epidemiology and genomic findings. Conclusion: Wastewater based epidemiology including genotyping should be integrated into SARS-CoV-2 surveillance networks to support decision-making regarding public health interventions to contain SARS-CoV-2. Additional analyses to support interpretation of quantitative and genomic results should be done.

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19): water quality, sanitation and hygiene management in light of coronavirus disease (COVID-19)

This paper describes the different ways to properly manage water quality, sanitation and hygiene in South Africa amidst COVID-19. These are: (1) use of safe disinfectants in the form of bleach, hyphochlorite or chlorine to disinfect the water before use;(2) virus inactivation through boiling (meaning, rolling boiling water for 2-3 minutes), irradiation (solar and UV) disinfection, and sedimentation and filtration techniques;(3) reclamation of wastewater and the use of sanitation services;safe practices in households through safe confinement of human wastes (faeces and urine);and (4) frequent and proper hand hygiene.

Post-pandemic effects on faecal pollution of aquatic systems

In order to highlight the impact of the pandemic phenomenon, especially on the wide use of antibiotics and biocides on bacterial communities, 3 Romanian interest regions were studied during 2019-2020. Every year, three wastewater sampling campaigns were organized from Covid-19 hospitals and WWTPs. The effluents were subjected to quantitative analysis for the determination of fecal coliform bacteria by the MPN (Most Probable Number) method using Colilert-18 medium (Idexx). The positive control (Escherichia coli ATCC25922, Citrobacter freundii ATCC 8090 and Enterobacter aerogenes ATCC 13048) and the negative one (Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212) were tested. In the same time, a blank control with sterile distilled water was analyzed. Hospital effluents did not show high densities of coliform bacteria at the beginning of the pandemic, but the values of these indicators were high (an average of over 5x105 CFU/100mL) in the WWTP. With the evolution of the pandemic, the treatment plants have streamlined their treatment processes, so that by the end of 2019 the densities of coliform bacteria remained around 5x104 CFU/100mL. While in mid-2020 the density of coliform bacteria decreased in hospital effluents, an increase can be observed in WWTP. In conclusion, the inversely proportional distribution of the densities of coliform bacteria in the hospital compared to WWTP, could be explained by the action of biocides and antibiotics on the microorganisms in the hospital environment that determined their decrease in wastewater.

Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA with a Simple Concentration Method in Wastewater in Turkey: A Pilot Study in Çorum

Introduction: Many studies have shown the advantages of monitoring wastewater in the evaluation of microbiological pathogens circulating in the community. It was aimed to detect of SARS-CoV-2 RNA with a simple concentration method in wastewater in this study. Materials and Methods: In our study, 7 wastewater samples were investigated, which were collected from the Urban Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) of Çorum, between October to November 2020. Sorbent bags were left in water for 24 hours. Then they were used to trap and concentrate the virus. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA detected by using reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assays. Results: As a result, 3 of the 7 samples taken were positive for N and ORF1ab target gene regions. Conclusion: This is the first study reporting the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater with different concentration and capture method.

DETECTION of SARS-COV-2 from RAW SEWAGE SAMPLES

Wastewater-based epidemiology is a widely used tool to detect prevalence of viruses in the population. In the current COVID-19 pandemic, many countries began to analyze the novel coronavirus in sewage samples, and it was found a reliable method to monitor the tendencies of COVID-19 infections in different areas. The viral titer was observed to increase 4-10 days earlier in wastewater than the number of clinical cases. Therefore, the method could be used for early prediction. The method development started in April 2020 at National Public Health Centre (NPHC). Various concentration (flocculation, ultrafiltration) and RNA isolation methods (commercial kits and classic precipitation methods) were compared. The flocculation method showed low recovery rate, while the quality of the ultrafiltration method depended strongly on the type of filter unit. For the national survey, a specially manufactured membrane was chosen, due to its good recovery and reliable availability. The results of nucleic acid isolation were similar with the different methods, a commercial kit (Zymo Research) recommended to feces and soil was chosen due to its higher inhibitor-removal ability. RNA concentration is quantified by quantitative RT-PCR (designed for the nucleocapsid protein 1 gene), similar to the method used for clinical diagnostics. Systematic wastewater sampling started in end of May in Budapest;the survey was extended to all county capitals by the beginning of July. The operators of the wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) from the raw sewage carry the sampling out weekly after the grid filter, and the samples are shipped to the laboratory within 24 hours. Most WWTP does not have composite auto-sampler;therefore, sampling is carried out in the peak-load in most places. The results are available in 36-72 hours and published to NPHC website within a week. A decreasing trend was observable in the data from the end of May to the beginning of June, in parallel with the decline of the first wave of the epidemic. After that, the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 stagnated at a low level until beginning of August. The increasing trend in the wastewater was followed by an increase of the confirmed COVID-19 cases approximately 2 weeks later. Data processing is still ongoing for better modeling of the correlation between clinical data and SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater.