Publications by authors named "Rawand Hamdi"

Article Synopsis
  • - Wastewater genomic surveillance in Tunisia analyzed samples from six treatment plants to monitor SARS-CoV-2 and identify its variants from December 2021 to July 2022.
  • - The study found that viral RNA levels in wastewater correlated with local COVID-19 case reports and detected the Delta and Omicron variants, including the concerning BA.5 variant before it was officially recognized.
  • - Results indicated that wastewater treatment processes in Tunisia are not fully effective at eliminating SARS-CoV-2, as the virus was still present in treated effluents, highlighting a gap in public health monitoring.
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Environmental discharge of wastewater represents a source of chemical and biological pollutants. This study firstly evaluates the microbiological and physicochemical quality of treated wastewaters collected from two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in two different Tunisian cities namely Sidi Bouzid (SB) and Gafsa (G). Then, the capacity of three raw and acid/base-activated local clays to enhance the quality of wastewaters was assessed.

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Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) could be useful as an early warning system for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic spread. Viruses are highly diluted in wastewater. Therefore, a virus concentration step is needed for SARS-CoV-2 wastewater detection.

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Hepatovirus A is known as a waterborne and foodborne virus that can be transmitted from one person to another through contaminated water and raw food. Therefore, it is necessary to survey the circulation of this type of enteric virus in the wastewater to prevent prospective outbreaks. Wastewater samples collected from WWTP El Menzeh I and Charguia I have been the subject for physicochemical, bacteriological (MPN) and virological analyses.

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