Nucleotide Correlations Between Rotavirus C Isolates in Clinical Samples from Outbreaks and in Sewage Samples

One-Year Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and Rotavirus in Water Matrices from a Hot Spring Area

The pandemic of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is still impacting not only on human health but also all economic activities, especially in those related to tourism. In this study, in order to characterize the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in a hot spring park in Uruguay, swimming pools water, wastewater, and surface water from this area were analyzed by quantitative PCR. Wastewater from Salto city located next to the hydrothermal spring area was also evaluated as well as the presence of Rotavirus (RV). Overall, SARS-CoV-2 was detected in 13% (13/102) of the analyzed samples. Moreover, this virus was not detected in any of the samples from the swimming pools water and was present in 18% (3/17) of wastewater samples from the hotels area showing the same trend between the titer of SARS-CoV-2 and the number of infected people in Salto city. SARS-CoV-2 was also detected in wastewater samples (32% (11/34)) from Salto city, detecting the first positive sample when 105 persons were positive for SARS-CoV-2. Rotavirus was detected only in 10% (2/24) of the wastewater samples analyzed in months when partial lockdown measures were taken, however, this virus was detected in nearly all wastewater samples analyzed when social distancing measures and partial lockdown were relaxed. Wastewater results confirmed the advantages of using the detection and quantification of viruses in this matrix in order to evaluate the presence of these viruses in the population, highlighting the usefulness of this approach to define and apply social distancing. This study suggests that waters from swimming pools are not a source of infection for SARS-CoV-2, although more studies are needed including infectivity assays in order to confirm this statement.

Wastewater Surveillance for Infectious Disease: A Systematic Review

Wastewater surveillance for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been shown to be a valuable source of information regarding SARS-CoV-2 transmission and coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases. Although the method has been used for several decades to track other infectious diseases, there has not been a comprehensive review outlining all of the pathogens that have been surveilled through wastewater. Herein we identify the infectious diseases that have been previously studied via wastewater surveillance prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Infectious diseases and pathogens were identified in 100 studies of wastewater surveillance across 38 countries, as were themes of how wastewater surveillance and other measures of disease transmission were linked. Twenty-five separate pathogen families were identified in the included studies, with the majority of studies examining pathogens from the family Picornaviridae, including polio and nonpolio enteroviruses. Most studies of wastewater surveillance did not link what was found in the wastewater to other measures of disease transmission. Among those studies that did, the value reported varied by study. Wastewater surveillance should be considered as a potential public health tool for many infectious diseases. Wastewater surveillance studies can be improved by incorporating other measures of disease transmission at the population-level including disease incidence and hospitalizations.