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Comment
. 2023 Dec;15(4):331-341.
doi: 10.1007/s12560-023-09565-0. Epub 2023 Sep 21.

Wastewater-based Epidemiology and SARS-CoV-2: Variant Trends in the Apulia Region (Southern Italy) and Effect of Some Environmental Parameters

Francesco Triggiano #  1 , Osvalda De Giglio #  2 , Francesca Apollonio #  1 , Silvia Brigida  3 , Fabrizio Fasano  1 , Pamela Mancini  4 , Giusy Bonanno Ferraro  4 , Carolina Veneri  4 , Giuseppina La Rosa  4 , Elisabetta Suffredini  5 , Luca Lucentini  4 , Nicola Ungaro  6 , Giuseppe Di Vittorio  7 , Onofrio Mongelli  7 , Nelhudoff Albano  7 , Maria Teresa Montagna  1
Affiliations
Comment

Wastewater-based Epidemiology and SARS-CoV-2: Variant Trends in the Apulia Region (Southern Italy) and Effect of Some Environmental Parameters

Francesco Triggiano et al. Food Environ Virol. 2023 Dec.

Abstract

During the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater monitoring has been used to monitor the levels of SARS-CoV-2 RNA entering the sewerage system. In Italy, the Istituto Superiore di Sanità coordinated the SARI project (Sorveglianza Ambientale Reflue in Italia) to detect SARS-CoV-2 and its variants. In this study, the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in raw wastewater against COVID-19 cases was evaluated together with the effect of temperature and precipitation on virus spread. We validated a predictive model, proposed by De Giglio et al., 2021, to establish the number of COVID-19 cases/100,000 inhabitants. A receiver operating characteristic curve model was applied to predict the number of COVID-19 cases and Poisson regression was applied to study the effect of temperature and rainfall on viral load. In Apulia, from October 2021 to December 2022, we analyzed 1041 samples, of which 985 (94.6%) tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. Median atmospheric temperature was inversely proportional to viral load in wastewater; no correlation was found with precipitation. The predictive model confirmed that at least 11 cases/100,000 inhabitants would occur in the 15 days following the detection of the virus in wastewater. Environmental surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 can be used to map the virus and its variants.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Sewage; Wastewater; Wastewater surveillance; Wastewater-based epidemiology.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that might appear to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Location of enrolled wastewater treatment plants in the Apulia Region (Southern Italy) BA, Bari; BT, Barletta-Andria-Trani; BR, Brindisi; FG, Foggia; LE, Lecce; TA, Taranto
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection (median value) in untreated wastewater samples using quantitative real-time reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction for each month at wastewater treatment plants * Average monthly temperatures in the Apulia Region (Southern Italy) from October 2021 to December 2022 (Apulian Regional Civil Protection); BA, Bari; BT, Barletta-Andria-Trani; BR, Brindisi; FG, Foggia; LE, Lecce; TA, Taranto
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Distribution (%) of SARS-CoV-2 variants during October 2021 to December 2022 in the A pulia Region southern Italy
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment on

  • Potential Use of Untreated Wastewater for Assessing COVID-19 Trends in Southern Italy.
    De Giglio O, Triggiano F, Apollonio F, Diella G, Fasano F, Stefanizzi P, Lopuzzo M, Brigida S, Calia C, Pousis C, Marzella A, La Rosa G, Lucentini L, Suffredini E, Barbuti G, Caggiano G, Montagna MT. De Giglio O, et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Sep 29;18(19):10278. doi: 10.3390/ijerph181910278. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021. PMID: 34639592 Free PMC article.

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