Revista Panamericana de Salud Pública (Oct 2021)

SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in untreated wastewater: detection of viral RNA in a low-resource community in Buenos Aires, Argentina

  • Néstor Gabriel Iglesias,
  • Leopoldo Germán Gebhard,
  • Juan Manuel Carballeda,
  • Ignacio Aiello,
  • Emiliano Recalde,
  • Gabriel Terny,
  • Silvina Ambrosolio,
  • Gabriela L’Arco,
  • Jonatan Konfino,
  • Juan Ignacio Brardinelli

DOI
https://doi.org/10.26633/RPSP.2021.137
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 45, no. 137
pp. 1 – 6

Abstract

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Objective. To measure SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage in a low-resource community in order to determine if it can be considered as an estimator of changes in the prevalence of COVID-19 in the population. Methods. In this descriptive observational study we collected samples of surface waters contaminated with sewage and optimized a method of purification of viral RNA using PEG concentration. We determined the amount of genetic material by quantitative real-time PCR using the CDC method for SARS-CoV-2 detection. Results. We quantified viral RNA in surface waters contaminated with sewage of a low resource community and determined that temporal trends of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples mirrored trends in COVID-19 active cases. Conclusions. Measuring of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage can be applied in low-resource communities without connection to sewers as an estimator of changes in the prevalence of COVID-19.

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