Inter-institutional laboratory standardization for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance through wastewater-based epidemiology applied to Mexico City

• Published in: IJID regions Vol. 12; p. 100429
• Main Authors: Oyervides-Muñoz, Mariel Araceli, Aguayo-Acosta, Alberto, de los Cobos-Vasconcelos, Daniel, Carrillo-Reyes, Julián, Espinosa-García, Ana C., Campos, Eneida, Driver, Erin M., Lucero-Saucedo, Sofia Liliana, Armenta-Castro, Arnoldo, de la Rosa, Orlando, Martínez-Ruiz, Manuel, Barragán-Trinidad, Martín, Vázquez-Salvador, Nallely, Silva-Magaña, Miguel A, Zavala-Méndez, Marcela, Iqbal, Hafiz M.N., Mazari-Hiriart, Marisa, Velazco, Hugo, Buitrón, German, Noyola, Adalberto, Halden, Rolf U., Sosa-Hernández, Juan Eduardo, Parra-Saldívar, Roberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 01-09-2024; Elsevier
• Subjects: Original Report; Public health; SARS-CoV-2 surveillance; Standardization; Wastewater-based surveillance; Wastewater-based surveillance; Public health; SARS-CoV-2 surveillance; Standardization
• ISSN: 2772-7076; 2772-7076
• DOI: 10.1016/j.ijregi.2024.100429

•Wastewater-based surveillance map pathogen prevalence by different laboratories.•Standardization of WBS protocols of pathogen detection increases installed capacity.•Bland–Altman comparison demonstrated the reproducibility between laboratories.•SARS-CoV-2 gc/L was quantified by seven laboratories (four inside and three outside Mexico City).•The rate of SARS-CoV-2 gc/L recovery by laboratory ranged between 65% and 93%.
Wastewater-based surveillance applied to SARS-CoV-2 viral load quantification for COVID-19 has become one of the most relevant complementary tools in epidemiologic prevention programs worldwide. However, this valuable decision-making tool still requires fine-tuning to produce comparable results between laboratories, especially when applied to the surveillance of megacities.
Six laboratories across Mexico and one from the United States executed an interlaboratory study to set up a singular standardized protocol considering method cost, installed infrastructure, materials available, and supply availability for SARS-CoV-2 quantification from five Mexico City sampling sites across this megacity.
Comparable data from processing outcomes in the Mexican laboratories and in the external international laboratory serve as a validating data source. The Bland–Altman comparison showed consistency, with cycle threshold values within ±1.96 SD of SARS-CoV-2 genetic copies for the standard curve quantification, with a mismatch of two laboratories. In addition, MS2 bacteriophage recovery rates varied between 35% and 67% among all participating laboratories. Finally, the efficiency of viral genetic material recovered from all participating laboratories varied between 65% and 93% for the participating laboratories.
This work lays the foundation for extensive and continuous wastewater-based surveillance application across independent Mexican laboratories in a time- and resource-effective manner.