Long-Term Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2: One-Year Study in Brazil
Renan Moura Martins,
Tamara Carvalho,
Cintia Bittar,
Daniela Muller Quevedo,
Rafael Nava Miceli,
Mauricio Lacerda Nogueira,
Helena Lage Ferreira,
Paulo Inácio Costa,
João Pessoa Araújo,
Fernando Rosado Spilki,
Paula Rahal,
Marilia Freitas Calmon
Affiliations
Renan Moura Martins
Laboratory of Genomic Studies, Institute of Biosciences, Letters and Exact Sciences (IBILCE), São Paulo State University (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto 15054-000, SP, Brazil
Tamara Carvalho
Laboratory of Genomic Studies, Institute of Biosciences, Letters and Exact Sciences (IBILCE), São Paulo State University (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto 15054-000, SP, Brazil
Cintia Bittar
Laboratory of Genomic Studies, Institute of Biosciences, Letters and Exact Sciences (IBILCE), São Paulo State University (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto 15054-000, SP, Brazil
Daniela Muller Quevedo
Institute of Exact and Technological Sciences (ICET), University Feevale, Novo Hamburgo 93525-075, RS, Brazil
Rafael Nava Miceli
SeMAE-Autonomous Municipal Water and Sewage Service, São José do Rio Preto 15048-000, SP, Brazil
Mauricio Lacerda Nogueira
Virology Research Laboratory (LPV), Faculty of Medicine of São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), São José do Rio Preto 15090-000, SP, Brazil
Helena Lage Ferreira
Applied Preventive Veterinary Medicine Laboratory, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Animal Science and Food Engineering (FZEA), University of São Paulo (USP), Pirassununga 13635-900, SP, Brazil
Paulo Inácio Costa
Department of Clinical Analysis, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Araraquara 14801-360, SP, Brazil
João Pessoa Araújo
Biotechnology Institute, São Paulo State University (UNESP), Botucatu 18607-440, SP, Brazil
Fernando Rosado Spilki
Molecular Microbiology Laboratory, University Feevale, Novo Hamburgo 93525-075, RS, Brazil
Paula Rahal
Laboratory of Genomic Studies, Institute of Biosciences, Letters and Exact Sciences (IBILCE), São Paulo State University (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto 15054-000, SP, Brazil
Marilia Freitas Calmon
Laboratory of Genomic Studies, Institute of Biosciences, Letters and Exact Sciences (IBILCE), São Paulo State University (UNESP), São José do Rio Preto 15054-000, SP, Brazil
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a tool involving the analysis of wastewater for chemicals and pathogens at the community level. WBE has been shown to be an effective surveillance system for SARS-CoV-2, providing an early-warning-detection system for disease prevalence in the community via the detection of genetic materials in the wastewater. In numerous nation-states, studies have indicated the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. Herein, we report the primary time-course monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater samples in São José do Rio Preto-SP/Brazil in order to explain the dynamics of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA during one year of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and analyze possible relationships with other environmental parameters. We performed RNA quantification of SARS-CoV-2 by RT-qPCR using N1 and N2 targets. The proportion of positive samples for every target resulted in 100% and 96.6% for N1 and N2, respectively. A mean lag of -5 days is observed between the wastewater signal and the new SARS-CoV-2-positive cases reported. A correlation was found between the air and wastewater temperatures and therefore between the SARS-CoV-2 viral titers for N1 and N2 targets. We also observed a correlation between SARS-CoV-2 viral titers and media wastewater flow for the N1 target. In addition, we observed higher viral genome copies within the wastewater samples collected on non-rainy days for the N1 target. Thus, we propose that, based on our results, monitoring raw wastewater may be a broadly applicable strategy that might contribute to resolving the pressing problem of insufficient diagnostic testing; it may represent an inexpensive and early-warning method for future COVID-19 outbreaks, mainly in lower- and middle-income countries.
