A rapid, high-throughput, and sensitive PEG-precipitation method for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance.

The effective application of wastewater surveillance is dependent on testing capacity and sensitivity to obtain high spatial resolution testing results for a timely targeted public health response. To achieve this purpose, the development of rapid, high-throughput, and sensitive virus concentration methods is urgently needed. Various protocols have been developed and implemented in wastewater surveillance networks so far, however, most of them lack the ability to scale up testing capacity or cannot achieve sufficient sensitivity for detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA at low prevalence.

Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater treatment plants mirrors the pandemic trend in Hong Kong.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) has emerged as a cost-effective and unbiased tool for population-level testing in the community. In the present study, we conducted a 6-month wastewater monitoring campaign from three WWTPs of different flow rates and catchment area characteristics, which serve 28 % (2.1 million people) of Hong Kong residents in total.

Evaluation of RT-qPCR Primer-Probe Sets to Inform Public Health Interventions Based on COVID-19 Sewage Tests.

Sewage surveillance is increasingly employed as a supplementary tool for COVID-19 control. Experiences learnt from large-scale trials could guide better interpretation of the sewage data for public health interventions. Here, we compared the performance of seven commonly used primer-probe sets in RT-qPCR and evaluated the usefulness in the sewage surveillance program in Hong Kong.

Comparison of virus concentration methods and RNA extraction methods for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance.

Wastewater surveillance is a promising tool for population-level monitoring of the spread of infectious diseases, such as the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Different from clinical specimens, viruses in community-scale wastewater samples need to be concentrated before detection because viral RNA is highly diluted. The present study evaluated eleven different virus concentration methods for the detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in wastewater.

Noninvasive prenatal paternity testing by means of SNP-based targeted sequencing.

Objective: To develop a method for noninvasive prenatal paternity testing based on targeted sequencing of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs).

Method: SNPs were selected based on population genetics data. Target-SNPs in cell-free DNA extracted from maternal blood (maternal cfDNA) were analyzed by targeted sequencing wherein target enrichment was based on multiplex amplification using QIAseq Targeted DNA Panels with Unique Molecular Identifiers.