One Year of Wastewater Surveillance in South Africa Supporting COVID-19 Clinical Findings Across Two Waves of Infection
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been an important tool for the detection of COVID-19 outbreaks. The retrospective analysis of COVID-19 data is vital to understand the spread and impact of the virus as well as to inform future planning and response efforts. In this study, we evaluated the SAR...
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MDPI AG
2024-11-01
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| author | Renée Street Angela Mathee Tarylee Reddy Nomfundo T. Mahlangeni Noluxabiso Mangwana Sizwe Nkambule Candice Webster Stephanie Dias Jyoti Rajan Sharma Pritika Ramharack Johan Louw Swastika Surujlal-Naicker Natacha Berkowitz Mongezi Mdhluli Glenda Gray Christo Muller Rabia Johnson |
| author_facet | Renée Street Angela Mathee Tarylee Reddy Nomfundo T. Mahlangeni Noluxabiso Mangwana Sizwe Nkambule Candice Webster Stephanie Dias Jyoti Rajan Sharma Pritika Ramharack Johan Louw Swastika Surujlal-Naicker Natacha Berkowitz Mongezi Mdhluli Glenda Gray Christo Muller Rabia Johnson |
| author_sort | Renée Street |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been an important tool for the detection of COVID-19 outbreaks. The retrospective analysis of COVID-19 data is vital to understand the spread and impact of the virus as well as to inform future planning and response efforts. In this study, we evaluated the SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in wastewater from 21 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the City of Cape Town (South Africa) over a period of 12 months and compared the (inactive) SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in wastewater between wave 2 (November 2020 to January 2021) and wave 3 (June 2021 to September 2021). The SARS-CoV-2 RNA expression was quantified in wastewater using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) by targeting the nucleocapsid (N) gene, and the resultant signal was normalized to the WWTP design capacity and catchment size. Our findings show that the maximum SARS-CoV-2 RNA signal was significantly higher in wave 3 than in wave 2 (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The duration of wave 3 (15 weeks) was longer than that of wave 2 (10 weeks), and the wastewater surveillance data supported the clinical findings, as evidenced by the two distinct waves. Furthermore, the data demonstrated the importance of long-term wastewater surveillance as a key indicator of changing trends. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-fd19d16722f74e0fbd7cc4f70cb54ece |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2076-2607 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Microorganisms |
| spelling | doaj-art-fd19d16722f74e0fbd7cc4f70cb54ece2024-11-26T18:14:36ZengMDPI AGMicroorganisms2076-26072024-11-011211223010.3390/microorganisms12112230One Year of Wastewater Surveillance in South Africa Supporting COVID-19 Clinical Findings Across Two Waves of InfectionRenée Street0Angela Mathee1Tarylee Reddy2Nomfundo T. Mahlangeni3Noluxabiso Mangwana4Sizwe Nkambule5Candice Webster6Stephanie Dias7Jyoti Rajan Sharma8Pritika Ramharack9Johan Louw10Swastika Surujlal-Naicker11Natacha Berkowitz12Mongezi Mdhluli13Glenda Gray14Christo Muller15Rabia Johnson16Environment & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Cape Town 7505, South AfricaEnvironmental Health Department, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Johannesburg, Johannesburg 2028, South AfricaBiostatistics Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Durban 4091, South AfricaEnvironment & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Cape Town 7505, South AfricaBiomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South AfricaEnvironment & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Cape Town 7505, South AfricaEnvironment & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Cape Town 7505, South AfricaBiomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South AfricaBiomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South AfricaBiomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South AfricaBiomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South AfricaScientific Services, Water and Sanitation Department, City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, Cape Town 8000, South AfricaCommunity Service and Health, City Health, City of Cape Town, Hertzog Boulevard, Cape Town 8000, South AfricaChief Research Operations Office, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg 7050, South AfricaOffice of the President, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg 7050, South AfricaBiomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South AfricaBiomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South AfricaWastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been an important tool for the detection of COVID-19 outbreaks. The retrospective analysis of COVID-19 data is vital to understand the spread and impact of the virus as well as to inform future planning and response efforts. In this study, we evaluated the SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in wastewater from 21 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the City of Cape Town (South Africa) over a period of 12 months and compared the (inactive) SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in wastewater between wave 2 (November 2020 to January 2021) and wave 3 (June 2021 to September 2021). The SARS-CoV-2 RNA expression was quantified in wastewater using quantitative real-time PCR (qRT-PCR) by targeting the nucleocapsid (N) gene, and the resultant signal was normalized to the WWTP design capacity and catchment size. Our findings show that the maximum SARS-CoV-2 RNA signal was significantly higher in wave 3 than in wave 2 (<i>p</i> < 0.01). The duration of wave 3 (15 weeks) was longer than that of wave 2 (10 weeks), and the wastewater surveillance data supported the clinical findings, as evidenced by the two distinct waves. Furthermore, the data demonstrated the importance of long-term wastewater surveillance as a key indicator of changing trends.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/11/2230SARS-CoV-2COVID-19viral RNAwastewaterenvironmental epidemiologySouth Africa |
| spellingShingle | Renée Street Angela Mathee Tarylee Reddy Nomfundo T. Mahlangeni Noluxabiso Mangwana Sizwe Nkambule Candice Webster Stephanie Dias Jyoti Rajan Sharma Pritika Ramharack Johan Louw Swastika Surujlal-Naicker Natacha Berkowitz Mongezi Mdhluli Glenda Gray Christo Muller Rabia Johnson One Year of Wastewater Surveillance in South Africa Supporting COVID-19 Clinical Findings Across Two Waves of Infection Microorganisms SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 viral RNA wastewater environmental epidemiology South Africa |
| title | One Year of Wastewater Surveillance in South Africa Supporting COVID-19 Clinical Findings Across Two Waves of Infection |
| title_full | One Year of Wastewater Surveillance in South Africa Supporting COVID-19 Clinical Findings Across Two Waves of Infection |
| title_fullStr | One Year of Wastewater Surveillance in South Africa Supporting COVID-19 Clinical Findings Across Two Waves of Infection |
| title_full_unstemmed | One Year of Wastewater Surveillance in South Africa Supporting COVID-19 Clinical Findings Across Two Waves of Infection |
| title_short | One Year of Wastewater Surveillance in South Africa Supporting COVID-19 Clinical Findings Across Two Waves of Infection |
| title_sort | one year of wastewater surveillance in south africa supporting covid 19 clinical findings across two waves of infection |
| topic | SARS-CoV-2 COVID-19 viral RNA wastewater environmental epidemiology South Africa |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/12/11/2230 |
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