Wastewater monitoring for SARS-CoV-2
Erica Donner A , Arash Zamyadi B , Aaron Jex C D , Michael Short A , Barbara Drigo A , David McCarthy E , Nicholas Crosbie F , Warish Ahmed G , Jochen Mueller H , Kevin Thomas H , Paul Monis I , Alex Keegan J , Maneesha Ginige K , Philip Hugenholtz L , Gene Tyson M , Kelly Hill N and Linda Blackall O PA Future Industries Institute, University of South Australia, Mawson Lakes, SA 5095, Australia
B Water Research Australia (WaterRA), Adelaide, SA, Australia
C Population Health and Immunity, Walter and Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
D Faculty of Veterinary and Agricultural Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Vic., Australia
E Environment and Public Health Microbiology Lab (EPHM Lab), Department of Civil Engineering, Monash University, Clayton, Vic. 3800, Australia
F Melbourne Water Corporation, 990 La Trobe Street, Docklands, Vic. 3001, Australia
G CSIRO Land and Water, Ecosciences Precinct, 41 Boggo Road, Qld 4102, Australia
H Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS), The University of Queensland, Woolloongabba, Qld 4103, Australia
I South Australian Water Corporation, Adelaide, SA, Australia
J Australian Water Quality Centre, SA Water Corporation, Adelaide, SA 5000, Australia
K CSIRO Land and Water, Floreat, WA 6014, Australia
L Australian Centre for Ecogenomics, School of Chemistry and Molecular Biosciences, The University of Queensland (UQ), Brisbane, Qld, Australia
M Queensland University of Technology, Translational Research Institute, 37 Kent Street, Woolloongabba, Qld 4102, Australia
N Water Research Australia (WaterRA), Adelaide, SA, Australia
O School of BioSciences, University of Melbourne, Vic., Australia
P Email: linda.blackall@unimelb.edu.au
Microbiology Australia 42(1) 18-22 https://doi.org/10.1071/MA21006
Submitted: 2 February 2021 Accepted: 12 March 2021 Published: 12 April 2021
Journal Compilation © The Authors 2021 Open Access CC BY, published (by CSIRO Publishing) on behalf of the ASM
Abstract
Wastewater monitoring (WM) of SARS-CoV-2 from sewers was applied throughout the world early in the COVID-19 pandemic. Sharing of protocols and experiences in WM of SARS-CoV-2 by national and international researchers and practitioners has been vital to ensuring the sensitivity and specificity of the methods. WM has been a valuable adjunct to human clinical testing, and when positive results occur in sewage, community testing has been increased. WM findings allow public health officials to track and respond to the impacts of loosening lockdown restrictions, demonstrating when return to normal social activities might occur without a resurgence of rapid community transmission, and they are particularly useful in areas with low human case numbers and/or low clinical testing rates. New research is required to address several practical knowledge gaps, for example, sampling protocols, prediction of case prevalence from viral numbers by modelling, and determination of detection limits. Communication to the Australian public of WM of SARS-CoV-2 has been via interactive, visual dashboards. Once SARS-CoV-2 vaccinations are introduced, WM could help track the underlying circulation of the virus in the population, the spread of known variants and its future evolution.
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