Dataset Information

Utilizing river and wastewater as a SARS-CoV-2 surveillance tool in settings with limited formal sewage systems.

ABSTRACT: The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted health systems globally and robust surveillance has been critical for pandemic control, however not all countries can currently sustain community pathogen surveillance programs. Wastewater surveillance has proven valuable in high-income settings, but less is known about the utility of water surveillance of pathogens in low-income countries. Here we show how wastewater surveillance of SAR-CoV-2 can be used to identify temporal changes and help determine circulating variants quickly. In Malawi, a country with limited community-based COVID-19 testing capacity, we explore the utility of rivers and wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance. From May 2020-May 2022, we collect water from up to 112 river or defunct wastewater treatment plant sites, detecting SARS-CoV-2 in 8.3% of samples. Peak SARS-CoV-2 detection in water samples predate peaks in clinical cases. Sequencing of water samples identified the Beta, Delta, and Omicron variants, with Delta and Omicron detected well in advance of detection in patients. Our work highlights how wastewater can be used to detect emerging waves, identify variants of concern, and provide an early warning system in settings with no formal sewage systems.

SUBMITTER: Barnes KG

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10689440 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Utilizing river and wastewater as a SARS-CoV-2 surveillance tool in settings with limited formal sewage systems.

Barnes Kayla G KG Levy Joshua I JI Gauld Jillian J Rigby Jonathan J Kanjerwa Oscar O Uzzell Christopher B CB Chilupsya Chisomo C Anscombe Catherine C Tomkins-Tinch Christopher C Mbeti Omar O Cairns Edward E Thole Herbert H McSweeney Shannon S Chibwana Marah G MG Ashton Philip M PM Jere Khuzwayo C KC Meschke John Scott JS Diggle Peter P Cornick Jennifer J Chilima Benjamin B Jambo Kondwani K Andersen Kristian G KG Kawalazira Gift G Paterson Steve S Nyirenda Tonney S TS Feasey Nicholas N

Nature communications 20231130 1

The COVID-19 pandemic has profoundly impacted health systems globally and robust surveillance has been critical for pandemic control, however not all countries can currently sustain community pathogen surveillance programs. Wastewater surveillance has proven valuable in high-income settings, but less is known about the utility of water surveillance of pathogens in low-income countries. Here we show how wastewater surveillance of SAR-CoV-2 can be used to identify temporal changes and help determi ...[more]

PMID: 38036496

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Project description:The final in natura discharge of urban domestic sewage in rivers in the Amazon is a widespread practice. In addition, there is an evident lack of knowledge about the self-depurative characteristics of the receiving water bodies in these rivers. This problem is a challenge for designing sanitary sewage system (SSS) projects in the region. We aimed to numerically simulate hydrodynamic scenarios to study pollutant dispersion processes in an urban stretch impacted by domestic sewage in the Lower Amazon River (Amapá, Brazil) using a hydrodynamic model calibrated and coupled to a dispersive model (Lagrangian) (SisBaHiA). The following methodological steps were performed: (a) bathymetric and liquid discharge experimental campaigns using acoustic techniques (acoustic doppler current profiler-ADCP); (b) identification of point and diffuse sources of pollution in the Santana Channel (CSA) and North Channel of the Amazon River (NCM) in Macapá; (c) calibration of the hydrodynamic model and simulation of the dispersive process of domestic sewage plumes; (d) simulation of dispersive process scenarios in two seasonal hydrological periods and different tidal phases. The results of the simulations indicated significant spatiotemporal variations in the plumes, suggesting critical restriction of water quality in the dry period. The hotspot water collection supply station for ETA-CAESA was found to be the most threatened site by diffuse and point source loads. The simulated impacts showed that concentration variation worsens seasonally, restricting the multiple uses of water in both seasonal periods, regardless of tide phase. The pollutant plumes near the coastal-urban zone were apparently more inhibited by the influence of currents, and, due to the greater dilution capacity in the center of the channel, by the effect reversing with the approximation to the riverbank. The research hypotheses were supported: (a) the process of self-depuration of pollutants in the NCM has considerable limitations in shallow areas, and (b) SSS design projects in the region of the Amazon estuarine complex require hydrodynamic and strict water quality assessment, especially when their hydrological-seasonal and bathymetric characteristics are significantly unfavorable to dispersive processes. Thus, a hydrodynamic analysis should be the primary criterion in designing any SSS projects in this stretch of the estuarine Amazon region.

Dataset Information

Utilizing river and wastewater as a SARS-CoV-2 surveillance tool in settings with limited formal sewage systems.

Publications

Utilizing river and wastewater as a SARS-CoV-2 surveillance tool in settings with limited formal sewage systems.

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