Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater as an earlier predictor of COVID-19 epidemic peaks in Venezuela.

Wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance has proven to be a useful and cost-effective tool for detecting COVID-19 outbreaks. Here, our objective was to evaluate its potential as an early warning system in Venezuela by detecting SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater and its correlation with reported cases of COVID-19. Viral RNA was concentrated from wastewater collected at various sites in Caracas (northern Venezuela), from September 2021 to July 2023, using the polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation method.

[Community structure of sponges (Porifera) in three reefs at Morrocoy National Park, Venezuela and its correspondence with some environmental variables].

Sponges have an important ecological role in coral reef ecosystems. However, when compared to other benthic Phyla, it has been little researched. This research was focused in the variability of the community structure of sponges in three locations at Morrocoy National Park (Cayo Sombrero, Playa Mero and Punta Brava) exposed to different environmental conditions (transparency and currents intensity) and affected in different degree of severity by a mass mortality event in 1996.

[Anti-bacterial activity of extracts from fungi collected from mangrove Rhizophora mangle (Rhizophoraceae) roots in Venezuela].

The antibacterial activity of marine fungi extracts was evaluated by a test of efficiency. The fungi were previously inoculated in Malt Agar (EMA) extract with 50% of seawater and growth for 60 days. Triplicate antibiograms were carried out with the extracts.