tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Emerg Infect Dis
. 2024 Dec;30(13):21-27.
doi: 10.3201/eid3013.230775.
Correlation of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater and Individual Testing Results in a Jail, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Lindsay B Saber, Shanika S Kennedy, Yixin Yang, Kyler N Moore, Yuke Wang, Stephen P Hilton, Tylis Y Chang, Pengbo Liu, Victoria L Phillips, Matthew J Akiyama, Christine L Moe, Anne C Spaulding
Institution-level wastewater-based surveillance was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, including in carceral facilities. We examined the relationship between COVID-19 diagnostic test results of residents in a jail in Atlanta, Georgia, USA (average population ≈2,700), and quantitative reverse transcription PCR signal for SARS-CoV-2 in weekly wastewater samples collected during October 2021‒May 2022. The jail offered residents rapid antigen testing at entry and periodic mass screenings by reverse transcription PCR of self-collected nasal swab specimens. We aggregated individual test data, calculated the Spearman correlation coefficient, and performed logistic regression to examine the relationship between strength of SARS-CoV-2 PCR signal (cycle threshold value) in wastewater and percentage of jail population that tested positive for COVID-19. Of 13,745 nasal specimens collected, 3.9% were COVID-positive (range 0%-29.5% per week). We observed a strong inverse correlation between diagnostic test positivity and cycle threshold value (r = -0.67; p<0.01). Wastewater-based surveillance represents an effective strategy for jailwide surveillance of COVID-19.
Keywords: Atlanta; COVID-19; Georgia; SARS-CoV-2; United States; coronaviruses; correctional; epidemiology; jail; respiratory infections; virus detection method; viruses; wastewater-based surveillance; zoonoses.
. 2024 Dec;30(13):21-27.
doi: 10.3201/eid3013.230775.
Correlation of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater and Individual Testing Results in a Jail, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Lindsay B Saber, Shanika S Kennedy, Yixin Yang, Kyler N Moore, Yuke Wang, Stephen P Hilton, Tylis Y Chang, Pengbo Liu, Victoria L Phillips, Matthew J Akiyama, Christine L Moe, Anne C Spaulding
- PMID: 38561638
- DOI: 10.3201/eid3013.230775
Institution-level wastewater-based surveillance was implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic, including in carceral facilities. We examined the relationship between COVID-19 diagnostic test results of residents in a jail in Atlanta, Georgia, USA (average population ≈2,700), and quantitative reverse transcription PCR signal for SARS-CoV-2 in weekly wastewater samples collected during October 2021‒May 2022. The jail offered residents rapid antigen testing at entry and periodic mass screenings by reverse transcription PCR of self-collected nasal swab specimens. We aggregated individual test data, calculated the Spearman correlation coefficient, and performed logistic regression to examine the relationship between strength of SARS-CoV-2 PCR signal (cycle threshold value) in wastewater and percentage of jail population that tested positive for COVID-19. Of 13,745 nasal specimens collected, 3.9% were COVID-positive (range 0%-29.5% per week). We observed a strong inverse correlation between diagnostic test positivity and cycle threshold value (r = -0.67; p<0.01). Wastewater-based surveillance represents an effective strategy for jailwide surveillance of COVID-19.
Keywords: Atlanta; COVID-19; Georgia; SARS-CoV-2; United States; coronaviruses; correctional; epidemiology; jail; respiratory infections; virus detection method; viruses; wastewater-based surveillance; zoonoses.