Sewer system sampling for wastewater-based disease surveillance

Is the work worth it?

authored by: Urda Düker, Regina Nogueira, Estefania Carpio-Vallejo, Ingeborg Joost, Katharina Hüppe, Roland Suchenwirth, Yvonne Saathoff, Markus Wallner
Abstract: 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.
Organisation(s): Leibniz University Hannover
External Organisation(s): Hamburg University of Applied Sciences
Ostfalia University of Applied Sciences
Local Health Authority Hildesheim
Public Health Agency of Lower Saxony
Type: Article
Journal: Journal of water and health
Volume: 22
Pages: 2218-2232
No. of pages: 15
ISSN: 1477-8920
Publication date: 01.11.2024
Publication status: Published
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Water Science and Technology, Waste Management and Disposal, Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health, Microbiology (medical), Infectious Diseases
Sustainable Development Goals: SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being, SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2024.301 (Access: Open)