TY - JOUR

T1 - Sewer system sampling for wastewater-based disease surveillance

T2 - Is the work worth it?

AU - Düker, Urda

AU - Nogueira, Regina

AU - Carpio-Vallejo, Estefania

AU - Joost, Ingeborg

AU - Hüppe, Katharina

AU - Suchenwirth, Roland

AU - Saathoff, Yvonne

AU - Wallner, Markus

N1 - Publisher Copyright: © 2024 The Authors.

PY - 2024/11/1

Y1 - 2024/11/1

N2 - Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent sampling is commonly used in wastewater-based disease surveillance to assess the circulation of pathogens in the population aggregated in a catchment area. However, the signal can be lost within the sewer network due to adsorption, degradation, and dilution processes. The present work aimed to investigate the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 concentration in three sub-catchments of the sewer system in the city of Hildesheim, Germany, characterised by different levels of urbanisation and presence/absence of industry, and to evaluate the benefit of sub-catchment sampling compared to WWTP influent sampling. Our study shows that sampling and analysis of virus concentrations in sub-catchments with particular settlement structures allows the identification of high concentrations of the virus at a local level in the wastewater, which are lower in samples collected at the inlet of the treatment plant covering the whole catchment. Higher virus concentrations per inhabitant were found in the sub-catchments in comparison to the inlet of the WWTP. Additionally, sewer sampling provides spatially resolved concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in the catchment area, which is important for detecting local high incidences of COVID-19.

AB - Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) influent sampling is commonly used in wastewater-based disease surveillance to assess the circulation of pathogens in the population aggregated in a catchment area. However, the signal can be lost within the sewer network due to adsorption, degradation, and dilution processes. The present work aimed to investigate the dynamics of SARS-CoV-2 concentration in three sub-catchments of the sewer system in the city of Hildesheim, Germany, characterised by different levels of urbanisation and presence/absence of industry, and to evaluate the benefit of sub-catchment sampling compared to WWTP influent sampling. Our study shows that sampling and analysis of virus concentrations in sub-catchments with particular settlement structures allows the identification of high concentrations of the virus at a local level in the wastewater, which are lower in samples collected at the inlet of the treatment plant covering the whole catchment. Higher virus concentrations per inhabitant were found in the sub-catchments in comparison to the inlet of the WWTP. Additionally, sewer sampling provides spatially resolved concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in the catchment area, which is important for detecting local high incidences of COVID-19.

KW - digital droplet PCR

KW - SARS-CoV-2

KW - sewer system sampling

KW - wastewater-based disease surveillance

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85210967715&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.2166/wh.2024.301

DO - 10.2166/wh.2024.301

M3 - Article

C2 - 39611680

AN - SCOPUS:85210967715

VL - 22

SP - 2218

EP - 2232

JO - Journal of water and health

JF - Journal of water and health

SN - 1477-8920

IS - 11

ER -