Review and Meta-Analysis: SARS-CoV-2 and Enveloped Virus Detection in Feces and Wastewater

Charlotte Twigg, Jannis Wenk

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

9 Citations (SciVal)

Abstract

Detection and quantification of viruses supplies key information on their spread and allows risk assessment for public health. In wastewater, existing detection methods have been focusing on non-enveloped enteric viruses due to enveloped virus transmission, such as coronaviruses, by the fecal-oral route being less likely. Since the beginning of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, interest and importance of enveloped virus detection in wastewater has increased. Here, quantitative studies on SARS-CoV-2 occurrence in feces and raw wastewater and other enveloped viruses via quantitative real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) during the early stage of the pandemic until April 2021 are reviewed, including statistical evaluation of the positive detection rate and efficiency throughout the detection process involving concentration, extraction, and amplification stages. Optimized and aligned sampling protocols and concentration methods for enveloped viruses, along with SARS-CoV-2 surrogates, in wastewater environments may improve low and variable recovery rates providing increased detection efficiency and comparable data on viral load measured across different studies.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)129-145
Number of pages17
JournalChemBioEng Reviews
Volume9
Issue number2
Early online date3 Mar 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 30 Apr 2022

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The authors would like to thank the Statistics Advisory Service of the University of Bath Mathematics Resource Centre for providing advice on statistical analysis and Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern for valuable comments that improved this manuscript. The authors have declared no conflict of interest.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 The Authors. ChemBioEng Reviews published by Wiley-VCH GmbH.

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • Real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Virus transmission
  • Wastewater-based epidemiology

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Bioengineering
  • Chemical Engineering (miscellaneous)
  • Biochemistry
  • Process Chemistry and Technology
  • Filtration and Separation
  • Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering

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