Wastewater surveillance and quantitative analysis of SARS-CoV-2 RNA are increasingly used to monitor the spread of COVID-19 in the community. We studied the feasibility of applying the surveillance data for early detection of local outbreaks. A Monte Carlo simulation model was constructed, applying data on reported variation in RNA gene copy concentration in faeces and faecal masses shed. It showed that, even with a constant number of SARS-CoV-2 RNA shedders, the variation in concentrations found in wastewater samples will be large, and that it will be challenging to translate viral concentrations into incidence estimates, especially when the number of shedders is low. Potential signals for early detection of hypothetical outbreaks were analysed for their performance in terms of sensitivity and specificity of the signals. The results suggest that a sudden increase in incidence is not easily identified on the basis of wastewater surveillance data, especially in small sampling areas and in low-incidence situations. However, with a high number of shedders and when combining data from multiple consecutive tests, the performance of wastewater sampling is expected to improve considerably. The developed modelling approach can increase our understanding of the results from wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0950268823000146 | DOI Listing |
Infect Immun
January 2025
Microbiology and Cell Science Department, IFAS, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.
infections pose significant public health challenges worldwide. The diversity of strains, particularly those isolated from environmental and clinical sources, necessitates innovative approaches to prevention and treatment. Previous research has shown that small extracellular vesicles (sEVs) produced by macrophages during Typhimurium infection can induce robust immune responses when used as a vaccine, offering complete protection in systemic infection models.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMar Pollut Bull
January 2025
Anhui Province Key Laboratory of Polar Environment and Global Change, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China; CAS Key Laboratory of Crust-Mantle Materials and Environments, School of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China. Electronic address:
To assess the environmental status of an abandoned aquaculture and breeding area in the northeast coast of the Hainan Island, surface and well water, sediment and surface soils were sampled and analyzed for conventional physicochemical properties, heavy metals and antibiotics. Metagenome tests were also conducted to determine the composition and diversity of the microbial community in typical habitats. Affected by the discharge of wastewater from higher-place pond aquaculture, coastal freshwater rivers have undergone significant salinization, Cl and Na were as high as 4.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFWater Res
January 2025
Centre for Technology in Water and Wastewater, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Technology Sydney, Ultimo, NSW 2007, Australia. Electronic address:
The post-pandemic world still faces ongoing COVID-19 infections, although international travel has returned to pre-pandemic conditions. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is considered an efficient tool for the population-wide surveillance of COVID-19 infections during the pandemic. However, the performance of WBE in post-pandemic era with travel restrictions lifted remains unknown.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
January 2025
Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Ecology Group, School of Medicine, University of Galway, Ireland; Centre for One Health, University of Galway, Ireland.
Urban water environments, including canals, harbours and estuaries are susceptible to contamination with antimicrobials and drug-resistant bacteria through domestic and industrial wastewater discharges and storm water overflows. There is potential for wildlife using these waters to acquire and transmit drug-resistant bacteria and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) of clinical importance. This study aimed to assess clinically important drug-resistant bacteria in urban waterfowl, particularly mute swans.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSci Total Environ
January 2025
School of Environmental and Natural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, Gwynedd Ll57 2UW, UK.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health challenge, with hospitals and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) serving as significant pathways for the dissemination of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). This study investigates the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as an early warning system for assessing the burden of AMR at the population level. In this comprehensive year-long study, effluent was collected weekly from three large hospitals, and treated and untreated wastewater were collected monthly from three associated community WWTPs.
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