Portable RT-PCR and MinION Nanopore Sequencing as a Proof-of-Concept SARS-CoV-2 Biosurveillance in Wastewater

MSMR. 2023 May 20;30(5):9-14.

Abstract

In this study, wastewater samples collected from a participating sentinel site were initially screened for the presence or absence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA using portable RT-PCR, with positive samples sequenced using a handheld MinION nanopore sequencing device. Genomic biosurveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants within wastewater has been established as an early warning system of infectious disease spread in a given catchment area, due to good correlation between spikes in viral levels detected in wastewater coincident with increases in COVID-19 incidence rates. Moreover, viral titers detected in a single wastewater sample are reflective of pre-symptomatic, asymptomatic, and post-symptomatic cases, making wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) a cost-effective, non-invasive public health surveillance method complementary to clinical diagnostic testing. The results of this study demonstrate the utility of population-scale SARS-CoV-2 epidemiology for insights into the viral evolution and transmission dynamics associated with specific SARS-CoV-2 variants that are necessary for effective strategies of containment and timely deployment of appropriate countermeasures.

MeSH terms

  • Biosurveillance*
  • COVID-19 Testing
  • COVID-19* / epidemiology
  • Humans
  • Military Personnel*
  • Nanopore Sequencing*
  • RNA, Viral / genetics
  • Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
  • SARS-CoV-2 / genetics
  • Wastewater

Substances

  • RNA, Viral
  • Wastewater

Supplementary concepts

  • SARS-CoV-2 variants