Environmental Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Wastewater and Groundwater in Quintana Roo, Mexico

• Published in: Food and environmental virology Vol. 13; no. 4; pp. 457 - 469
• Main Authors: Rosiles-González, Gabriela, Carrillo-Jovel, Victor Hugo, Alzate-Gaviria, Liliana, Betancourt, Walter Q., Gerba, Charles P., Moreno-Valenzuela, Oscar A., Tapia-Tussell, Raúl, Hernández-Zepeda, Cecilia
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01.12.2021; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Assaying; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Chemistry/Food Science; Coronaviruses; COVID-19; Environmental Monitoring; Epidemiology; Food Science; Genomes; Groundwater; Groundwater discharge; Groundwater treatment; Humans; Mexico; Municipal wastewater; Original Paper; RNA viruses; RNA, Viral - genetics; SARS-CoV-2; Severe acute respiratory syndrome; Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sinkholes; Viral diseases; Virology; Viruses; Waste Water; Wastewater treatment; Wastewater treatment plants; Water sampling; Mexico; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Viral indicators; Groundwater; Wastewater
• ISSN: 1867-0334; 1867-0342
• DOI: 10.1007/s12560-021-09492-y

The presence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in wastewater has been reported as a result of fecal shedding of infected individuals. In this study, the occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA was explored in primary-treated wastewater from two municipal wastewater treatment plants in Quintana Roo, Mexico, along with groundwater from sinkholes, a household well, and submarine groundwater discharges. Physicochemical variables were obtained in situ, and coliphage densities were determined. Three virus concentration methods based on adsorption-elution and sequential filtration were used followed by RNA isolation. Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 was done by RT-qPCR using the CDC 2020 assay, 2019-nCoV_N1 and 2019-nCoV_N2. The Pepper mild mottle virus , one of the most abundant RNA viruses in wastewater was quantified by RT-qPCR and compared to SARS-CoV-2 concentrations. The use of three combined virus concentration methods together with two qPCR assays allowed the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in 58% of the wastewater samples analyzed, whereas none of the groundwater samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater were from 1.8 × 10 3 to 7.5 × 10 3 genome copies per liter (GC l −1 ), using the N1 RT-qPCR assay, and from 2.4 × 10 2 to 5.9 × 10 3 GC l −1 using the N2 RT-qPCR assay. Based on PMMoV prevalence detected in all wastewater and groundwater samples tested, the three viral concentration methods used could be successfully applied for SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection in further studies. This study represents the first detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater in southeast Mexico and provides a baseline for developing a wastewater-based epidemiology approach in the area.