Monitoring the presence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in water-food-environmental compartments: State of the knowledge and research needs

Bashir Adelodun; Fidelis Odedishemi Ajibade; AbdulGafar Olatunji Tiamiyu; Nathaniel Azubuike Nwogwu; Rahmat Gbemisola Ibrahim; Pankaj Kumar; Vinod Kumar; Golden Odey; Krishna Kumar Yadav; Afzal Husain Khan; Marina M S Cabral-Pinto; Kola Yusuff Kareem; Hashim Olalekan Bakare; Temitope Fausat Ajibade; Quadri Noorulhasan Naveed; Saiful Islam; Oluniyi Olatunji Fadare; Kyung Sook Choi

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2021.111373

Monitoring the presence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in water-food-environmental compartments: State of the knowledge and research needs

Environ Res. 2021 Sep:200:111373. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.111373. Epub 2021 May 24.

Authors

Bashir Adelodun¹, Fidelis Odedishemi Ajibade², AbdulGafar Olatunji Tiamiyu³, Nathaniel Azubuike Nwogwu⁴, Rahmat Gbemisola Ibrahim⁵, Pankaj Kumar⁶, Vinod Kumar⁶, Golden Odey⁷, Krishna Kumar Yadav⁸, Afzal Husain Khan⁹, Marina M S Cabral-Pinto¹⁰, Kola Yusuff Kareem¹¹, Hashim Olalekan Bakare³, Temitope Fausat Ajibade¹², Quadri Noorulhasan Naveed¹³, Saiful Islam¹⁴, Oluniyi Olatunji Fadare¹⁵, Kyung Sook Choi¹⁶

Affiliations

¹ Department of Agricultural Civil Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, South Korea; Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Ilorin, PMB 1515, Ilorin, 240103, Nigeria. Electronic address: adelodun.b@unilorin.edu.ng.
² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Technology, PMB 704, Akure, Nigeria; Key Laboratory of Environmental Biotechnology, Research Centre for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, PR China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China.
³ Department of Chemical Engineering, University of Ilorin, PMB 1515, Ilorin, Nigeria.
⁴ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; Department of Agricultural and Bioresources Engineering, Federal University of Technology Owerri, PMB 1526, Nigeria; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Aquatic Chemistry, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, PR China.
⁵ Kwara State Ministry of Health, Ilorin, Kwara State, Nigeria.
⁶ Agro-ecology and Pollution Research Laboratory, Department of Zoology and Environmental Science, Gurukula Kangri (Deemed to be University), Haridwar, 249404, Uttarakhand, India.
⁷ Department of Agricultural Civil Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, South Korea.
⁸ Faculty of Science and Technology, Madhyanchal Professional University, Ratibad, Bhopal, 462044, India.
⁹ Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, Jazan University, 114, Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁰ Geobiotec Research Centre, Department of Geoscience, University of Aveiro, 3810-193, Aveiro, Portugal.
¹¹ Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering, University of Ilorin, PMB 1515, Ilorin, 240103, Nigeria.
¹² Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Federal University of Technology, PMB 704, Akure, Nigeria; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; Key Laboratory of Urban Pollutant Conversion, Institute of Urban Environment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xiamen, 361021, PR China.
¹³ College of Computer Science, King Khalid University, Abha, 61413, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁴ Civil Engineering Department, College of Engineering, King Khalid University, Abha, 61413, Asir, Saudi Arabia.
¹⁵ University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, PR China; State Key Laboratory of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, Research Center for Eco-Environmental Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100085, China; Division of Environmental and Earth Sciences, Centre for Energy Research and Development, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife, 220001, Nigeria.
¹⁶ Department of Agricultural Civil Engineering, Kyungpook National University, Daegu, 41566, South Korea; Institute of Agricultural Science & Technology, Kyungpook, National University, Daegu, 41566, South Korea. Electronic address: ks.choi@knu.ac.kr.

Abstract

The recent spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SAR-CoV-2) and the accompanied coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has continued ceaselessly despite the implementations of popular measures, which include social distancing and outdoor face masking as recommended by the World Health Organization. Due to the unstable nature of the virus, leading to the emergence of new variants that are claimed to be more and rapidly transmissible, there is a need for further consideration of the alternative potential pathways of the virus transmissions to provide the needed and effective control measures. This review aims to address this important issue by examining the transmission pathways of SARS-CoV-2 via indirect contacts such as fomites and aerosols, extending to water, food, and other environmental compartments. This is essentially required to shed more light regarding the speculation of the virus spread through these media as the available information regarding this is fragmented in the literature. The existing state of the information on the presence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in water-food-environmental compartments is essential for cause-and-effect relationships of human interactions and environmental samples to safeguard the possible transmission and associated risks through these media. Furthermore, the integration of effective remedial measures previously used to tackle the viral outbreaks and pandemics, and the development of new sustainable measures targeting at monitoring and curbing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 were emphasized. This study concluded that alternative transmission pathways via human interactions with environmental samples should not be ignored due to the evolving of more infectious and transmissible SARS-CoV-2 variants.

Keywords: Environmental contamination; Persistent viral molecules; SARS-CoV-2; Virus transmission; Water-food safety.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

COVID-19*
Humans
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2*
Water

Substances

Water