Abstract
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), which causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), is shed in feces and the viral ribonucleic acid (RNA) is detectable in wastewater. A nine-week wastewater epidemiology study of ten wastewater facilities, serving 39% of the state of Utah or 1.26 M individuals was conducted in April and May of 2020. COVID-19 cases were tabulated from within each sewershed boundary. RNA from SARS-CoV-2 was detectable in 61% of 126 wastewater samples. Urban sewersheds serving >100,000 individuals and tourist communities had higher detection frequencies. An outbreak of COVID-19 across two communities positively correlated with an increase in wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA, while a decline in COVID-19 cases preceded a decline in RNA. SARS-CoV-2 RNA followed a first order decay rate in wastewater, while 90% of the RNA was present in the liquid phase of the influent. Infiltration and inflow, virus decay and sewershed characteristics should be considered during correlation analysis of SAR-CoV-2 with COVID-19 cases. These results provide evidence of the utility of wastewater epidemiology to assist in public health responses to COVID-19.
Keywords: COVID-19; Disease burden; Interceptor; SARS-CoV-2 RNA; Sewershed; Wastewater epidemiology.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, wastewater epidemiology, sewershed, SARS-CoV-2 RNA, Disease burden, Interceptor, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus disease, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, SAR-CoV-2, Epidemiology, severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus, virus, RNA, wastewater, Characteristics, outbreak, feces, Public health response, Community, SARS-CoV-2 RNA, utility, Utah, Evidence, infiltration, COVID-19 cases, urban, Ribonucleic acid, evidence of, acute respiratory syndrome, Correlation analysis, frequencies, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus, acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, COVID-19 case, viral ribonucleic acid, Public health responses, individual, inflow, detectable, conducted, increase in, cause, assist, 1.26, positively correlated, with COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 disease, with COVID-19,