Open AccessDetection of SARS-CoV-2 Variants Mu, Beta, Gamma, Lambda, Delta, Alpha, and Omicron in Wastewater Settled Solids Using Mutation-Specific Assays Is Associated with Regional Detection of Variants in Clinical Samples
Author(s) -
Marlene K. Wolfe,
Bridgette Hughes,
Dorothea Duong,
Vikram Chan-Herur,
Krista Wigginton,
Bradley J. White,
Alexandria B. Boehm
Publication year - 2022
Publication title -
applied and environmental microbiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.552
H-Index - 324
eISSN - 1070-6291
pISSN - 0099-2240
DOI - 10.1128/aem.00045-22
Subject(s) - wastewater , biology , covid-19 , pandemic , digital polymerase chain reaction , virology , gene , genetics , medicine , polymerase chain reaction , environmental science , environmental engineering , infectious disease (medical specialty) , disease
Wastewater represents a pooled biological sample of the contributing community and thus a resource for assessing community health. Here, we show that emergence, spread, and disappearance of SARS-CoV-2 infections caused by variants of concern are reflected in the presence of variant genomic RNA in wastewater settled solids. This work highlights an important public health use case for wastewater.