tetano
Editor, Senior Moderator
Sci Total Environ
. 2020 Jun 30;743:140621.
doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140621. Online ahead of print.
First detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater in North America: A study in Louisiana, USA
Samendra P Sherchan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shalina Shahin[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Lauren M Ward[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Sarmila Tandukar[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Tiong G Aw[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Bradley Schmitz[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Warish Ahmed[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Masaaki Kitajima[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
Abstract
We investigated the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in wastewater samples in southern Louisiana, USA. Untreated and treated wastewater samples were collected on five occasions over a four-month period from January to April 2020. The wastewater samples were concentrated via ultrafiltration (Method A), and an adsorption-elution method using electronegative membranes (Method B). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 2 out of 15 wastewater samples using two reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assays (CDC N1 and N2). None of the secondary treated and final effluent samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater in North America, including the USA. However, concentration methods and RT-qPCR assays need to be refined and validated to increase the sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in wastewater.
Keywords: COVID-19; RT-qPCR; SARS-CoV-2; Surveillance; Wastewater; Wastewater-based epidemiology.
. 2020 Jun 30;743:140621.
doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140621. Online ahead of print.
First detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater in North America: A study in Louisiana, USA
Samendra P Sherchan[SUP] 1 [/SUP], Shalina Shahin[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Lauren M Ward[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Sarmila Tandukar[SUP] 3 [/SUP], Tiong G Aw[SUP] 2 [/SUP], Bradley Schmitz[SUP] 4 [/SUP], Warish Ahmed[SUP] 5 [/SUP], Masaaki Kitajima[SUP] 6 [/SUP]
Affiliations
- PMID: 32758821
- DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140621
Abstract
We investigated the presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in wastewater samples in southern Louisiana, USA. Untreated and treated wastewater samples were collected on five occasions over a four-month period from January to April 2020. The wastewater samples were concentrated via ultrafiltration (Method A), and an adsorption-elution method using electronegative membranes (Method B). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 2 out of 15 wastewater samples using two reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) assays (CDC N1 and N2). None of the secondary treated and final effluent samples tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. To our knowledge, this is the first study reporting the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater in North America, including the USA. However, concentration methods and RT-qPCR assays need to be refined and validated to increase the sensitivity of SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in wastewater.
Keywords: COVID-19; RT-qPCR; SARS-CoV-2; Surveillance; Wastewater; Wastewater-based epidemiology.