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SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19, hereafter referred to as the virus) is shed in feces by infected individuals. Virus concentrations in the sewage can be measured by collecting a sample at the inlet of sewage treatment plants. Although the virus is unlikely to be viable or infectious at sewage treatment plants, more studies are needed to confirm this assumption. Sewage treatment systems do an excellent job of treating sewage and disinfecting viruses and other pathogens. Operators at these facilities follow appropriate steps to reduce risk of exposure to all pathogens in raw sewage.
Samples were collected from sewage entering treatment plants in Utah.
Scientists at the University of Utah, Utah State University, and Brigham Young University developed a uniform method to measure the genetic material of the virus in sewage entering treatment plants. The laboratory method includes the same processes used for most clinical COVID-19 diagnoses. Virus concentrations were coupled with wastewater flow and service area populations to estimate viral concentrations in units of SARS-CoV-2 copies/100,000 people per day. This metric provides an indicator of changes in community infection rates in each treatment plant’s service area.
Jennifer Weidhaas, PhD, P.E., University of Utah
D. Keith Roper, PhD, Utah State University
Zach Aanderud, PhD, Brigham Young University
Jim VanDerslice, PhD, University of Utah
Marissa Taddie, PhD, University of Utah
Erica Gaddis, PhD, Utah Division of Water Quality
Jake VanderLaan, Utah Division of Water Quality
Jeff Ostermiller, Utah Division of Water Quality
Ken Hoffman, Utah Division of Water Quality
Nathan LaCross, PhD Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology
Matt McCord Utah Department of Health, Bureau of Epidemiology
The Water Research Foundation hosted an international web conference on the detection of novel coronavirus using wastewater epidemiology. Experts discussed the promise and challenges of using this information to inform pandemic response.
Early preprints of several research papers have been released so that water and health professionals have access to the information while they undergo peer review. This includes a review of the state of knowledge of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater and
another review that calls for international coordination on these research efforts.
Several case studies provide early results for studies similar to the Utah pilot investigation and the potential for sewage monitoring as a leading indicator of COVID-19 infections including studies from: Massachusetts, Montana, Connecticut, France, the Netherlands, Australia, Spain, and Italy.
A group of Italian researchers have released the results of a study that affirms the conclusion of Utah’s pilot that treated wastewater poses little threat on the spread of novel coronavirus. A recent review paper reviewed all available literature on the topic and reached a similar conclusion.
Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, Utah’s wastewater plant operators have continued working to ensure that this critical infrastructure remains operational and to protect the waters of the State. Yet, every facility contacted volunteered their labor and materials to aid Utah’s efforts in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic.