Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2021 Jul 27;1(1):18-31.
doi: 10.1021/acsenvironau.1c00015. eCollection 2021 Nov 17.

Wastewater-Based Epidemiology for Community Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2: Progress and Challenges

Teresa Kumblathan  1 , Yanming Liu  1 , Gursharan K Uppal  1 , Steve E Hrudey  1 , Xing-Fang Li  1
Affiliations
Review

Wastewater-Based Epidemiology for Community Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2: Progress and Challenges

Teresa Kumblathan et al. ACS Environ Au. .

Abstract

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is useful for the surveillance of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in communities, complementing clinical diagnostic testing of individuals. In this Review, we summarize recent progress and highlight remaining challenges in monitoring SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater systems for community and environmental surveillance. Very low concentrations of viral particles and RNA present in the complicated wastewater and sewage sample matrix require efficient sample processing and sensitive detection. We discuss advantages and limitations of available methods for wastewater sample processing, including collection, separation, enrichment, RNA extraction, and purification. Efficient extraction of the viral RNA and removal of interfering sample matrices are critical to the subsequent reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) for sensitive detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. We emphasize the importance of implementing appropriate controls and method validation, which include the use of surrogate viruses for assessing extraction efficiency and normalization against measurable chemical and biological components in wastewater. Critical analysis of the published studies reveals imperative research needs for the development, validation, and standardization of robust and sensitive methods for quantitative detection of viral RNA and proteins in wastewater for WBE.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing financial interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Various methods reported in the literature for sampling, virus concentration, RNA extraction and detection, and data interpretation for WBE of SARS-CoV-2
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization . Coronavirus (COVID-19) Dashboard, 2021. Available from https://covid19.who.int/ (accessed 2021-07-06).
    1. Tang J. W.; Tambyah P. A.; Hui D. S. Emergence of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant in the UK. J. Infect. 2021, 82 (4), e27–e28. 10.1016/j.jinf.2020.12.024. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Luan B.; Wang H.; Huynh T. Enhanced binding of the N501Y mutated SARS-CoV-2 spike protein to the human ACE2 receptor: insights from molecular dynamics simulations. FEBS Lett. 2021, 595 (10), 1454–1461. 10.1002/1873-3468.14076. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Zhou D.; Dejnirattisai W.; Supasa P.; Liu C.; Mentzer A. J.; Ginn H. M.; Zhao Y.; et al. Evidence of escape of SARS-CoV-2 variant B. 1.351 from natural and vaccine-induced sera. Cell 2021, 184 (9), 2348–2361. 10.1016/j.cell.2021.02.037. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Wang P.; Casner R. G.; Nair M. S.; Wang M.; Yu J.; Cerutti G.; Liu L.; Kwong P. D.; Huang Y.; Shapiro L.; Ho D. D. Increased resistance of SARS-CoV-2 variant P. 1 to antibody neutralization. Cell Host Microbe 2021, 29 (5), 747–751. 10.1016/j.chom.2021.04.007. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources