Extensive Wastewater-Based Epidemiology as a Resourceful Tool for SARS-CoV-2 Surveillance in a Low-to-Middle-Income Country through a Successful Collaborative Quest: WBE, Mobility, and Clinical Tests

• Published in: Water (Basel) Vol. 14; no. 12; p. 1842
• Main Authors: Sosa-Hernández, Juan Eduardo, Oyervides-Muñoz, Mariel Araceli, Melchor-Martínez, Elda M, Driver, Erin M, Bowes, Devin A, Kraberger, Simona, Lucero-Saucedo, Sofia Liliana, Fontenele, Rafaela S, Parra-Arroyo, Lizeth, Holland, LaRinda A, Peña-Benavides, Samantha Ayde, Newell, Melanie Engstrom, Martínez-Ruiz, Manuel, Adhikari, Sangeet, Rodas-Zuluaga, Laura Isabel, Kumar, Rahul, López-Pacheco, Itzel Y, Castillo-Zacarias, Carlos, Iqbal, Hafiz M. N, Lim, Efrem S, Salas-Limón, Daniel, Varsani, Arvind, Halden, Rolf U, Parra-Saldívar, Roberto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Basel MDPI AG 01.06.2022
• Subjects: Arizona; Catchments; Collaboration; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Disease transmission; Epidemics; Epidemiology; Filtered wastewater; Health care; Health services; High density polyethylenes; Infection; International cooperation; Metropolitan areas; Mexico; Pandemics; Population; Public health; Quarantine; Raw wastewater; SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater; SARS-CoV-2 surveillance; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Trends; Viral diseases; Viruses; Wastewater; wastewater-based epidemiology; Water treatment; Water utilities; Mexico; Arizona; United States > US
• ISSN: 2073-4441; 2073-4441
• DOI: 10.3390/w14121842

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged healthcare systems worldwide. Efforts in low-to-middle-income countries (LMICs) cannot keep stride with infection rates, especially during peaks. A strong international collaboration between Arizona State University (ASU), Tec de Monterrey (TEC), and Servicios de Agua y Drenaje de Monterrey (Local Water Utilities) is acting to integrate wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) of SARS-CoV-2 in the region as a complementary approach to aid the healthcare system. Wastewater was collected from four sewer catchments in the Monterrey Metropolitan area in Mexico (pop. 4,643,232) from mid-April 2020 to February 2021 (44 weeks, n = 644). Raw wastewater was filtered and filter-concentrated, the RNA was extracted using columns, and the Charité/Berlin protocol was used for the RT-qPCR. The viral loads obtained between the first (June 2020) and second waves (February 2021) of the pandemic were similar; in contrast, the clinical cases were fewer during the first wave, indicating poor coverage. During the second wave of the pandemic, the SARS-CoV-2 quantification in wastewater increased 14 days earlier than the COVID-19 clinical cases reported. This is the first long-term WBE study in Mexico and demonstrates its value in pandemic management.