Monitoring of SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA in wastewater: A surveillance tool to foresee infection's evolution in the Mexican Caribbean

• Published in: Water environment research Vol. 95; no. 4; pp. e10859 - n/a
• Main Authors: Hernández‐Terrones, Laura Margarita, Carrillo‐Reyes, Julián, Ayala‐Godoy, Jairo A., Guerrero‐Ruiz, Eugenio, Vargas, Leslie Meredith García, Prado‐Guevara, Bruno Abraham, Rodríguez‐Abraham, Melissa Fernanda, Buitrón, Germán
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-04-2023
• Subjects: ANOVA; Caribbean Region; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Effluents; Humans; Influents; Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation; Markov chains; Mexican Caribbean; Mexico; Monte Carlo simulation; Nucleic acids; Plants; Ribonucleic acid; RNA; RNA, Viral - genetics; Sampling; SARS-CoV-2 - genetics; SARS‐CoV‐2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sewage; Simulation; Statistical methods; Surveillance; Variance analysis; Viral diseases; Wastewater; Wastewater treatment; Wastewater treatment plants; Mexico; Caribbean Region; Mexican Caribbean; SARS-CoV-2; wastewater; Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation; ANOVA
• ISSN: 1061-4303; 1554-7531
• DOI: 10.1002/wer.10859

The study aims to determine SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA in sewage of Cancun wastewater treatment plants, the main touristic destination of Mexico, and to estimate the infected persons during the sampling period. SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA traces were detected in the inlet of the five plants during almost all the sampling months. However, there is no presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA traces in the effluent of the five WWTPs during the study period. ANOVA analysis showed differences in the concentrations of RNA traces of SARS‐CoV‐2 between the sample dates, but no differences were found from one WWTP to another. Estimated infected individuals by Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation are higher (between 77% and 91%) than the cases reported by the health authority. Wastewater monitoring and the estimation of infected individuals are a helpful tool, because estimation provides early warning signs on how broadly SARS‐CoV‐2 is circulating in the city, and led to the authorities to take measures wisely.
Practitioner Points
There is no presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA traces in the effluent of the facilities, suggesting the effectiveness of treatment.
Surveillance of viral RNA concentrations at treatment plants revealed presence in the influent of five plants
Estimated infected individuals by MCMC simulation are higher than cases reported by health authority
Environmental surveillance approach in wastewater influent is helpful to identify the clusters and to take informed decisions
This study evaluates wastewater treatment plants of the main touristic destination of Mexican Caribbean to identify SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA traces and to estimate the number of the infected persons. SARS‐CoV‐2 RNA traces were detected only in the inlet of the five plants. Wastewater monitoring and the estimation of infections provide early warning signs of SARS‐CoV‐2 circulation in the city.