Dataset Information

Rapid Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Risk for Fecally Contaminated River Water.

ABSTRACT: Following the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), airborne water droplets have been identified as the main transmission route. Identifying and breaking all viable transmission routes are critical to stop future outbreaks, and the potential of transmission by water has been highlighted. By modifying established approaches, we provide a method for the rapid assessment of the risk of transmission posed by fecally contaminated river water and give example results for 39 countries. The country relative risk of transmission posed by fecally contaminated river water is related to the environment and the populations' infection rate and water usage. On the basis of in vitro data and using temperature as the primary controller of survival, we then demonstrate how viral loads likely decrease after a spill. These methods using readily available data suggest that sewage spills into rivers within countries with high infection rates could provide infectious doses of >40 copies per 100 mL of water. The approach, implemented in the supplementary spreadsheet, can provide a fast estimate of the upper and lower viral load ranges following a riverine spill. The results enable evidence-based research recommendations for wastewater epidemiology and could be used to evaluate the significance of fecal-oral transmission within freshwater systems.

SUBMITTER: Shutler JD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7931626 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Rapid Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Risk for Fecally Contaminated River Water.

Shutler Jamie D JD Zaraska Krzysztof K Holding Thomas T Machnik Monika M Uppuluri Kiranmai K Ashton Ian G C IGC Migdał Łukasz Ł Dahiya Ravinder S RS

ACS ES&T water 20210222 4

Following the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), airborne water droplets have been identified as the main transmission route. Identifying and breaking all viable transmission routes are critical to stop future outbreaks, and the potential of transmission by water has been highlighted. By modifying established approaches, we provide a method for the rapid assessment of the risk of transmission posed by fecally contaminated river water and give example results ...[more]

PMID: 33880460

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Project description:BackgroundChildren may be at higher risk for swimming-associated illness following exposure to fecally-contaminated recreational waters. We analyzed a pooled data set of over 80,000 beachgoers from 13 beach sites across the United States to compare risks associated with the fecal indicator bacteria Enterococcus spp. (measured by colony forming units, CFU and quantitative polymerase chain reaction cell equivalents, qPCR CE) for different age groups across different exposures, sites and health endpoints.MethodsSites were categorized according to the predominant type of fecal contamination (human or non-human). Swimming exposures of varying intensity were considered according to degree of contact and time spent in the water. Health endpoints included gastrointestinal and respiratory symptoms and skin rashes. Logistic regression models were used to analyze the risk of illness as a function of fecal contamination in water as measured by Enterococcus spp. among the exposed groups. Non-swimmers (those who did not enter the water) were excluded from the models to reduce bias and facilitate comparison across groups.ResultsGastrointestinal symptoms were the most sensitive health endpoint and strongest associations were observed with Enterococcus qPCR CE at sites impacted by human fecal contamination. Under several exposure scenarios, associations between illness and Enterococcus spp. levels were significantly higher among children compared to adolescents and adults. Respiratory symptoms were also associated with Enterococcus spp. exposures among young children at sites affected by human fecal sources, although small sample sizes resulted in imprecise estimates for these associations.ConclusionUnder many exposure scenarios, children were at higher risk of illness associated with exposure to fecal contamination as measured by the indicator bacteria Enterococcus spp. The source of fecal contamination and the intensity of swimming exposure were also important factors affecting the association between Enterococcus spp. and swimming-associated illness.

Project description:Public transport environments are thought to play a key role in the spread of SARS-CoV-2 worldwide. Indeed, high crowding indexes (i.e. high numbers of people relative to the vehicle size), inadequate clean air supply, and frequent extended exposure durations make transport environments potential hotspots for transmission of respiratory infections. During the COVID-19 pandemic, generic mitigation measures (e.g. physical distancing) have been applied without also considering the airborne transmission route. This is due to the lack of quantified data about airborne contagion risk in transport environments. In this study, we apply a novel combination of close proximity and room-scale risk assessment approaches for people sharing public transport environments to predict their contagion risk due to SARS-CoV-2 respiratory infection. In particular, the individual infection risk of susceptible subjects and the transmissibility of SARS-CoV-2 (expressed through the reproduction number) are evaluated for two types of buses, differing in terms of exposure time and crowding index: urban and long-distance buses. Infection risk and reproduction number are calculated for different scenarios as a function of the ventilation rates (both measured and estimated according to standards), crowding indexes, and travel times. The results show that for urban buses, the close proximity contribution significantly affects the maximum occupancy to maintain a reproductive number of <1. In particular, full occupancy of the bus would be permitted only for an infected subject breathing, whereas for an infected subject speaking, masking would be required. For long-distance buses, full occupancy of the bus can be maintained only if specific mitigation solutions are simultaneously applied. For example, for an infected person speaking for 1 h, appropriate filtration of the recirculated air and simultaneous use of FFP2 masks would permit full occupancy of the bus for a period of almost 8 h. Otherwise, a high percentage of immunized persons (>80%) would be needed.

Project description:There are only a few established methods to determine the concentration of encapsulated viruses, such as SARS-CoV-2, in water matrices, limiting the application of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE)—an important tool for public health research. The present study compared four methods that are commonly used to concentrate non-encapsulated enteric viruses for determining SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater and wastewater-enriched river water samples. The four methods tested were electronegative membrane with Mg+2 addition, aluminum hydroxide-based precipitation, polyethylene glycol (PEG) 8000 precipitation, and ultrafiltration (with porosity of 10 and 50 kDa). Prior to the concentration step, filtration or centrifugation was performed to remove suspended particles from the samples (pretreatment). To evaluate the recovery efficiency (%), samples of SARS-CoV-2 from nasopharyngeal swabs obtained from RT-qPCR-positive patients were used as spiked samples. The second part of the analysis involved the quantification of the SARS-CoV-2 copy number in analytes without SARS-CoV-2-spiked samples. Among the tested methods, pretreatment via centrifugation followed by ultrafiltration with a 50-kDa cut-off was found the most efficient method for wastewater samples with spiked samples (54.3 or 113.01% efficiency). For the wastewater-enriched river samples with spiked samples, pretreatment via centrifugation followed by filtration using an electronegative membrane was the most efficient method (110.8% and 95.9% for N1 and N2 markers, respectively). However, ultrafiltration of the raw river water samples using 10 or 50 kDa cut-off filters and PEG 8000 precipitation showed the best concentration efficiency based on copy number, regardless of the pretreatment approach or sample type (values ranging from 3 × 105 to 6.7 × 103). The effectiveness of the concentration method can vary depending on the type of sample and concentration method. We consider that this study will contribute to more widespread use of WBE for the environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2. Graphical abstract Image 1

Dataset Information

Rapid Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Risk for Fecally Contaminated River Water.

Publications

Rapid Assessment of SARS-CoV-2 Transmission Risk for Fecally Contaminated River Water.

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