Correlative Analysis of Wastewater Trends with Clinical Cases and Hospitalizations through Five Dominant Variant Waves of COVID-19

作者：Qingyu Zhan, Helena M. Solo‐Gabriele, Mark Sharkey, Ayaaz Amirali, Cynthia Beaver, Melinda Boone, Samuel Comerford, Daniel Cooper, Elena M. Cortizas, Gabriella A. Cosculluela, Benjamin Currall, George S. Grills, Erin N. Kobetz, Naresh Kumar, Jennifer Laine, Walter E. Lamar, Jiangnan Lyu, Christopher E. Mason, Brian D. Reding, Matthew A. Roca, Stephan C. Schürer, Bhavarth Shukla, Natasha Schaefer Solle, Maritza Suarez, Mario Stevenson, John J. Tallon, Collette Thomas, D. Vidović, Siôn L. Williams, Xue Yin, Yalda Zarnegarnia, Kristina M. Babler · 发表于：ACS ES&T Water · 年份：2023 · DOI：10.1021/acsestwater.3c00032 · 被引用次数：20 · 研究领域：SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing、SARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 Research、Biosensors and Analytical Detection

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been utilized to track community infections of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by detecting RNA of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), within samples collected from wastewater. The correlations between community infections and wastewater measurements of the RNA can potentially change as SARS-CoV-2 evolves into new variations by mutating. This study analyzed SARS-CoV-2 RNA, and indicators of human waste in wastewater from two sewersheds of different scales (University of Miami (UM) campus and Miami-Dade County Central District wastewater treatment plant (CDWWTP)) during five internally defined COVID-19 variant dominant periods (Initial, Pre-Delta, Delta, Omicron and Post-Omicron wave). SARS-CoV-2 RNA quantities were compared against COVID-19 clinical cases and hospitalizations to evaluate correlations with wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Although correlations between documented clinical cases and hospitalizations were high, prevalence for a given wastewater SARS-CoV-2 level varied depending upon the variant analyzed. The correlative relationship was significantly steeper (more cases per level found in wastewater) for the Omicron-dominated period. For hospitalization, the relationships were steepest for the Initial wave, followed by the Delta wave with flatter slopes during all other waves. Overall results were interpreted in the context of SARS-CoV-2 virulence and vaccination rates among the community.