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. 2020 Nov 15:743:140621.
doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.140621. Epub 2020 Jun 30.

First detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater in North America: A study in Louisiana, USA

Samendra P Sherchan  1 , Shalina Shahin  2 , Lauren M Ward  2 , Sarmila Tandukar  3 , Tiong G Aw  2 , Bradley Schmitz  4 , Warish Ahmed  5 , Masaaki Kitajima  6
Affiliations

First detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater in North America: A study in Louisiana, USA

Samendra P Sherchan et al. Sci Total Environ. .

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.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of competing interest The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Unlabelled Image
Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in wastewater and confirmed COVID-19 cases in southern Louisiana, USA. Circles, squares, and triangles represent sample types, i.e.,influent, secondary-treated, and final effluent, respectively. Red and blue symbols represent samples collected from WWTPs A and B, respectively. Closed and open symbols denote positive and negative SARS-CoV-2 RNA detections, respectively. Bars and line plots denote new and cumulative COVID-19 cases, respectively, in parishes A (red) and B (blue) where respective WWTPs (A and B) are located. Epidemiological data on confirmed COVID-19 cases in each parish in the State of Louisiana were retrieved from the USA facts (https://usafacts.org/ visualizations/coronavirus-covid-19-spread-map/). (For interpretation of the references to colour in this figure legend, the reader is referred to the web version of this article.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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