One of the biggest concerns in the COVID-19 pandemic is about how the community can return to our pre-COVID activities and habits without widespread transmission and outbreaks. While vaccines and treatments development in important, but to surveillance and prevention measures are just as critical, and researchers are turning to wastewater testing to understand the prevalence of the virus in a community.
What wastewater can tell us about COVID-19 spread – and how to prevent it
Background
One of the biggest concerns in the COVID-19 pandemic is about how the community can return to our pre-COVID activities and habits without widespread transmission and outbreaks. While vaccines and treatments development in important, but to surveillance and prevention measures are just as critical, and researchers are turning to wastewater testing to understand the prevalence of the virus in a community.
Wastewater testing can tell us if and how the virus is spreading in a community and help predict and prevent outbreaks by enacting counter measures. It's a method that's been increasingly in the news as more people return to work and school. Just last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the creation of the national wastewater surveillance to collect data from across the country.
Several universities are testing wastewater as students return to campuses and dorms. Recently, University of Arizona just prevented an outbreak by identifying the coronavirus in wastewater from the dorms, testing residents for COVID-19 and isolating two students who had tested positive despite being asymptomatic. In this wastewater testing, Thermo Scientific Sorvall LYNX 4000 Superspeed Centrifuge, as well as our Thermo Scientific BIOFlex HC Swinging-Bucket Rotor and Fiberlite F12-6 x 500 LEX Fixed Angle Carbon Fiber Rotor was used to pellet samples into 250 mL containers and provides particularly fine separation of samples.
What is wastewater testing and why is it critical for SAR-CoV-2?
Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 can shed the virus through their feces, so if the virus is present in a sample from a sewage system, it indicates that someone in the community has COVID-19. The amount of virus – or viral load – in a wastewater sample helps determine the level at which SARS-CoV-2 is present in the community, too. For instance, many people infected with the virus can be completely asymptomatic or don't develop symptoms for two to 14 days, so they could unknowingly be spreading the virus. Wastewater testing can be used to determine if SARS-CoV-2 is present in a community before anyone develops symptoms. If the virus is detected in a sample, public health professionals can proactively test community members and quarantine those who test positive, preventing a large-scale outbreak.
If the virus has already spreading, scientists can analyze the sample to determine when an outbreak will peak and how large of a crisis it could be. They can even alert local hospitals of when they might expect an influx of patients and how many so that health workers can prepare their facilities and personal protective equipment to best handle the situation.
How is wastewater testing for SAR-CoV-2 carried out?
The testing method recommended by CDC involves 4 major steps:
Sample Preparation
Sample Concentration
RNA Extraction
RNA Measurement
During sample preparation, it is recommended to properly store the wastewater samples to ensure the RNA measurements are accurate. If possible, refrigerate the sample at 4 °C (TSX +4degC refrigerator) upon collection and process the sample within 24 hours. If you are unable to process it within 24 hours, be sure to spike a matrix recovery control into the sample prior to storing it at -20 °C (TSX -20degC freezer) or -70 °C (FDE -80degC ULT). The processing step involves homogenizing the samples (Fisherbrand Bead Mill 24) to break up wastewater solids, followed by sample clarification step to clarify samples using large pore filters (5 µm or larger) or centrifugation.
The sample concentration step helps to improve the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and a few approaches that yield adequate recovery are:
Ultrafiltration
Polyethylene glycol (PEG) precipitation
Skim milk flocculation
Ultracentrifugation
Out of these approaches, you may determine the right one for your lab by considering the sample type, sample volume, sample processing time and the availability of equipment.
Finally, for RNA extraction and measurement (Thermo Scientific™ NanoDrop™ OneC Microvolume UV-Vis Spectrophotometer), extraction can be conducted using nucleic acid extraction and purification kits and measurements are usually conducted using RT-qPCR (reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction) (MyGo Pro qPCR Instrument) or RT-ddPCR (RT-droplet digital PCR; other forms of digital PCR are also possible but less common)
Wastewater can reveal much more than if the virus is present
Aside from detection, scientists can also sequence the virus collected in a wastewater sample to determine the exact strains of virus and where the strains came from originally. Sequencing can answer questions like, who may have brought the virus into the community? Who else have they come into contact with? Is the outbreak linked to one event, or many?
Surveillance of the pandemic continues to play a crucial role in disease management and control. The community need to be able to respond quickly and accurate so ensure that the disease is capped at bay. If you are looking to setup your lab for SARS-CoV-2 testing and still find yourself unsure of the requirements, feel free to speak our experts and specialist for your solution!
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One of the biggest concerns in the COVID-19 pandemic is about how the community can return to our pre-COVID activities and habits without widespread transmission and outbreaks. While vaccines and treatments development in important, but to surveillance and prevention measures are just as critical, and researchers are turning to wastewater testing to understand the prevalence of the virus in a community.
What wastewater can tell us about COVID-19 spread – and how to prevent it
Background
One of the biggest concerns in the COVID-19 pandemic is about how the community can return to our pre-COVID activities and habits without widespread transmission and outbreaks. While vaccines and treatments development in important, but to surveillance and prevention measures are just as critical, and researchers are turning to wastewater testing to understand the prevalence of the virus in a community.
Wastewater testing can tell us if and how the virus is spreading in a community and help predict and prevent outbreaks by enacting counter measures. It's a method that's been increasingly in the news as more people return to work and school. Just last month, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced the creation of the national wastewater surveillance to collect data from across the country.
Several universities are testing wastewater as students return to campuses and dorms. Recently, University of Arizona just prevented an outbreak by identifying the coronavirus in wastewater from the dorms, testing residents for COVID-19 and isolating two students who had tested positive despite being asymptomatic. In this wastewater testing, Thermo Scientific Sorvall LYNX 4000 Superspeed Centrifuge, as well as our Thermo Scientific BIOFlex HC Swinging-Bucket Rotor and Fiberlite F12-6 x 500 LEX Fixed Angle Carbon Fiber Rotor was used to pellet samples into 250 mL containers and provides particularly fine separation of samples.
What is wastewater testing and why is it critical for SAR-CoV-2?
Patients infected with SARS-CoV-2 can shed the virus through their feces, so if the virus is present in a sample from a sewage system, it indicates that someone in the community has COVID-19. The amount of virus – or viral load – in a wastewater sample helps determine the level at which SARS-CoV-2 is present in the community, too. For instance, many people infected with the virus can be completely asymptomatic or don't develop symptoms for two to 14 days, so they could unknowingly be spreading the virus. Wastewater testing can be used to determine if SARS-CoV-2 is present in a community before anyone develops symptoms. If the virus is detected in a sample, public health professionals can proactively test community members and quarantine those who test positive, preventing a large-scale outbreak.
If the virus has already spreading, scientists can analyze the sample to determine when an outbreak will peak and how large of a crisis it could be. They can even alert local hospitals of when they might expect an influx of patients and how many so that health workers can prepare their facilities and personal protective equipment to best handle the situation.
How is wastewater testing for SAR-CoV-2 carried out?
The CDC has provided various resources on wastewater surveillance such as Developing a Wastewater Surveillance Sampling Strategy and Wastewater Surveillance Testing Methods.
Test method flowchart adopted from CDC.
The testing method recommended by CDC involves 4 major steps:
During sample preparation, it is recommended to properly store the wastewater samples to ensure the RNA measurements are accurate. If possible, refrigerate the sample at 4 °C (TSX +4degC refrigerator) upon collection and process the sample within 24 hours. If you are unable to process it within 24 hours, be sure to spike a matrix recovery control into the sample prior to storing it at -20 °C (TSX -20degC freezer) or -70 °C (FDE -80degC ULT). The processing step involves homogenizing the samples (Fisherbrand Bead Mill 24) to break up wastewater solids, followed by sample clarification step to clarify samples using large pore filters (5 µm or larger) or centrifugation.
The sample concentration step helps to improve the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA and a few approaches that yield adequate recovery are:
Out of these approaches, you may determine the right one for your lab by considering the sample type, sample volume, sample processing time and the availability of equipment.
Finally, for RNA extraction and measurement (Thermo Scientific™ NanoDrop™ OneC Microvolume UV-Vis Spectrophotometer), extraction can be conducted using nucleic acid extraction and purification kits and measurements are usually conducted using RT-qPCR (reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction) (MyGo Pro qPCR Instrument) or RT-ddPCR (RT-droplet digital PCR; other forms of digital PCR are also possible but less common)
Wastewater can reveal much more than if the virus is present
Aside from detection, scientists can also sequence the virus collected in a wastewater sample to determine the exact strains of virus and where the strains came from originally. Sequencing can answer questions like, who may have brought the virus into the community? Who else have they come into contact with? Is the outbreak linked to one event, or many?
Surveillance of the pandemic continues to play a crucial role in disease management and control. The community need to be able to respond quickly and accurate so ensure that the disease is capped at bay. If you are looking to setup your lab for SARS-CoV-2 testing and still find yourself unsure of the requirements, feel free to speak our experts and specialist for your solution!
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