Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in dormitories as a part of comprehensive university campus COVID-19 monitoring

Emily Lu; Yuehan Ai; Angela Davis; Judith Straathof; Kent Halloran; Natalie Hull; Ryan Winston; Mark H Weir; Jeffrey Soller; Zuzana Bohrerova; Michael Oglesbee; Jiyoung Lee

doi:10.1016/j.envres.2022.113580

Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in dormitories as a part of comprehensive university campus COVID-19 monitoring

Environ Res. 2022 Sep;212(Pt E):113580. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113580. Epub 2022 Jun 6.

Authors

Emily Lu¹, Yuehan Ai², Angela Davis³, Judith Straathof⁴, Kent Halloran⁵, Natalie Hull⁶, Ryan Winston⁷, Mark H Weir⁸, Jeffrey Soller⁹, Zuzana Bohrerova⁴, Michael Oglesbee¹⁰, Jiyoung Lee¹¹

Affiliations

¹ Environmental Science Graduate Program, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
² Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
³ Division of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁴ Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁵ Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Facilities Operations and Development, Environmental Health and Safety, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁶ Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Sustainability Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁷ Department of Civil, Environmental, and Geodetic Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Department of Food, Agricultural, and Biological Engineering, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Sustainability Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁸ Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Sustainability Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁹ Soller Environmental, LLC, Berkely, CA, 94703, USA.
¹⁰ Department of Veterinary Biosciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
¹¹ Department of Food Science and Technology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Division of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA; Infectious Diseases Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. Electronic address: lee.3598@osu.edu.

Abstract

Wastewater-based epidemiology is an effective tool for monitoring infectious disease spread or illicit drug use within communities. At the Ohio State University, we conducted a SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance program in the 2020-2021 academic year and compared results with the university-required weekly COVID-19 saliva testing to monitor COVID-19 infection prevalence in the on-campus residential communities. The objectives of the study were to rapidly track trends in the wastewater SARS-CoV-2 gene concentrations, analyze the relationship between case numbers and wastewater signals when adjusted using human fecal viral indicator concentrations (PMMoV, crAssphage) in wastewater, and investigate the relationship of the SARS-CoV-2 gene concentrations with wastewater parameters. SARS-CoV-2 nucleocapsid and envelope (N1, N2, and E) gene concentrations, determined with reverse transcription droplet digital PCR, were used to track SARS-CoV-2 viral loads in dormitory wastewater once a week at 6 sampling sites across the campus during the fall semester in 2020. During the following spring semester, research was focused on SARS-CoV2 N2 gene concentrations at 5 sites sampled twice a week. Spearman correlations both with and without adjusting using human fecal viral indicators showed a significant correlation (p < 0.05) between human COVID-19 positive case counts and wastewater SARS-CoV-2 gene concentrations. Spearman correlations showed significant relationships between N1 gene concentrations and both TSS and turbidity, and between E gene concentrations and both pH and turbidity. These results suggest that wastewater signal increases with the census of infected individuals, in which the majority are asymptomatic, with a statistically significant (p-value <0.05) temporal correlation. The study design can be utilized as a platform for rapid trend tracking of SARS-CoV-2 variants and other diseases circulating in various communities.

Keywords: Fecal mass correction; PMMoV; Total suspended solids; Viral shedding; Wastewater-based surveillance; crAssphage.

Publication types

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

MeSH terms

COVID-19* / epidemiology
Humans
RNA, Viral / genetics
SARS-CoV-2* / genetics
Universities
Wastewater
Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring

Substances

RNA, Viral
Waste Water

Supplementary concepts

SARS-CoV-2 variants