Microbiological characterization of stormwater in a high-income neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Stormwater harvesting and reuse in the urban environment is emerging as an alternative water source, despite human pathogens in the stormwater may represent a hazard to public health. This study presents the results of 1-year monitoring to evaluate the quality of stormwater obtained in a high-income neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro for a set of microbiological parameters as total coliforms, Escherichia coli (E. coli), human adenovirus (HAdV), human JC polyomavirus (JCPyV), Group A rotavirus (RVA), and norovirus GI and GII. Forty-eight stormwater samples obtained from two multiplex units presented total coliforms and E. coli in 91.7% (n = 44) and 58.3% (n = 28) of samples, while HAdV and JCPyV were detected in 20.8% (n = 10) and 12.5% (n = 6), respectively. Viral quantification ranged from 103 to 104 genomic copies/liter (GC/L) for HAdV and from 101 to 104 GC/L for JCPyV. Neither RVA nor norovirus GI and GII was detected. Fifteen out of sixteen (93.8%) samples containing viruses were compliant as per fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) according to Brazilian standards for rainwater reuse and US EPA Guidelines for Water Reuse, suggesting that viruses monitoring should complement the study of bacterial indicators.

Within-Day Variability of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Municipal Wastewater Influent During Periods of Varying COVID-19 Prevalence and Positivity

Wastewater surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA is being used to monitor Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) trends in communities; however, within-day variation in primary influent concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA remain largely uncharacterized. In the current study, grab sampling of primary influent was performed every 2 hours over two different 24-hour periods at two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in northern Indiana, USA. In primary influent, uncorrected, recovery-corrected, and pepper mild mottle virus (PMMoV)-normalized SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations demonstrated ordinal agreement with increasing clinical COVID-19 positivity, but not COVID-19 cases. Primary influent SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations exhibited greater variation than PMMoV RNA concentrations as expected for lower shedding prevalence. The bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) process control recovery efficiency was low (mean: 0.91%) and highly variable (coefficient of variation: 51% - 206%) over the four sampling events with significant differences between the two WWTPs (p <0.0001). The process control recovery was similar to the independently assessed SARS-CoV-2 RNA recovery efficiency, which was also significantly different between the two WWTPs (p <0.0001). Recovery-corrected SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations better reflected within-day changes in primary influent flow rate and fecal content, as indicated by PMMoV concentrations. These observations highlight the importance of assessing the process recovery efficiency, which is highly variable, using an appropriate process control. Despite large variations, both recovery-corrected and PMMoV-normalized SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in primary influent demonstrate potential for monitoring COVID-19 positivity trends in WWTPs serving peri-urban and rural areas.

Show us the Data: Global COVID-19 Wastewater Monitoring Efforts, Equity, and Gaps

A year since the declaration of the global coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic there were over 110 million cases and 2.5 million deaths. Learning from methods to track community spread of other viruses such as poliovirus, environmental virologists and those in the wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) field quickly adapted their existing methods to detect SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater. Unlike COVID-19 case and mortality data, there was not a global dashboard to track wastewater monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 RNA worldwide. This study provides a one year review of the "COVIDPoops19" global dashboard of universities, sites, and countries monitoring SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater. Methods to assemble the dashboard combined standard literature review, direct submissions, and daily, social media keyword searches. Over 200 universities, 1,000 sites, and 55 countries with 59 dashboards monitor wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. However, monitoring is primarily in high-income countries (65%) with less access to this valuable tool in low and middle income countries (35%). Data are not widely shared publicly or accessible to researchers to further inform public health actions, perform meta-analysis, better coordinate, and determine equitable distribution of monitoring sites. For WBE to be used to its full potential during COVID-19 and beyond, show us the data.

Assessment of Genetic Markers for Tracking the Sources of Human Wastewater Associated Escherichia coli in Environmental Waters.

In this study, we have evaluated the performance characteristics (host-specificity and -sensitivity) of four human wastewater-associated Escherichia coli (E. coli) genetic markers (H8, H12, H14, and H24) in 10 target (human) and nontarget (cat, cattle, deer, dog, emu, goat, horse, kangaroo, and possum) host groups in Southeast Queensland, Australia. The overall host-sensitivity values of the tested markers in human wastewater samples were 1.0 (all human wastewater samples contained the E. coli genetic markers). The overall host-specificity values of these markers to differentiate between human and animal host groups were 0.94, 0.85, 0.72, and 0.57 for H8, H12, H24, and H14, respectively. Based on the higher host-specificity values, H8 and H12 markers were chosen for a validation environmental study. The prevalence of the H8 and H12 markers was determined among human wastewater E. coli isolates collected from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). Among the 97 isolates tested, 44 (45%) and 14 (14%) were positive for the H8 and H12 markers, respectively. A total of 307 E. coli isolates were tested from environmental water samples collected in Brisbane, of which 7% and 20% were also positive for the H8 and H12 markers, respectively. Based on our results, we recommend that these markers could be useful when it is important to identify the source(s) of E. coli (whether they originated from human wastewater or not) in environmental waters.