DOI 10.35776/VST.2021.03.08
UDC 628.31:578.834.1

Kofman V. Ya., Vishnevskii Mikhail

Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater (review)

Summary

The COVID-19 pandemic, declared by WHO as a health emergency, is caused by a novel SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus. According to reports from the European Union, the United States and Australia, the potential survival of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in feces and wastewater for a sufficiently long time creates a real threat of its entry with wastewater into treatment facilities or directly into surface water while raw wastewater is discharged. This indicates the potential for the transfer of SARS-CoV-2 by water. In this regard, the development of effective methods for the removal and inactivation of viruses at the treatment facilities is of special actuality. The presence of coronavirus infection in wastewater can pose a serious health hazard to people in contact with it. These include the personnel at the wastewater treatment facilities, as well as the general population, who may be directly exposed to raw or inadequately treated wastewater through defective water or sewer systems. In many countries wastewater epidemiology methods are used to obtain timely reliable information on the spread of coronavirus infection. Possible detection of RNA virus in wastewater even with a low prevalence rate of COVID-19 and the correlation between the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater and official information indicate that monitoring wastewater can become a sensitive tool for monitoring the circulation of the virus in the
population.

Key words

treatment facilities , wastewater , inactivation , SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus , feces , infection risk , removal , epidemiology of wastewater

The further text is accessible on a paid subscription.
For authorisation enter the login/password.
Or subscribe

REFERENCES

1. Knapp A. Secret history of first coronaviruses. Forbes, 2020.04.11.
2. Nomoto H., Ishikane M., Katagiri D., et al. Cautious handling of urine from moderate to severe COVID-19 patients. American Journal of Infection Control, 2020, v. 48 (8), pp. 969–971.
3. Wu Y., Guo C., Tang L., et al. Prolonged presence of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in faecal samples. The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2020, v. 5 (5), pp. 434–435.
4. Wang W., Xu Y., Gao R. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in different types of clinical specimens. Journal of American Medical Association, 2020, v. 323, pp. 1843–1844.
5. Rosario K., Morrison C. M., Mettel K. A., Betancourt W. Q. Novel circular rep-encoding single-stranded DNA viruses detected in treated wastewater. Microbiology Resource Announcements, 2019, v. 8 (18), pp. 1–2.
6. Amirian E. S. Potential fecal transmission of SARS-CoV-2: Current evidence and implications for public health. International Journal of Infection Diseases, 2020, v. 95, pp. 363–370.
7. Núñez-Delgado A. What do we know about the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus in the environment? Science of the Total Environment, 2020, pn 138647.
8. Xiao F., Tang M., Zheng X., et al. Evidence for gastrointestinal infection of SARS-CoV-2. Gastroenterology, 2020, v. 158 (6), pp. 1831–1833.
9. Kampf G., Todt D., Pfaender S., Steinmann E. Persistence of coronaviruses on inanimate surfaces and their inactivation with biocidal agents. Journal of Hospital Infection, 2020, v. 104 (3), pp. 246–251.
10. Ye Y., Ellenberg R. M., Graham K. E., Wigginton K. R. Survivability, partitioning, and recovery of enveloped viruses in untreated municipal wastewater. Environmental Science and Technology, 2016, v. 50 (10), pp. 5077–5085.
11. Brisebois E., Veillette M., Dion-Dupont V., et al. Human viral pathogens are pervasive in wastewater treatment center aerosols. Journal of Environmental Sciences, 2018, v. 67, pp. 45–53.
12. Casanova L., Rutala W. A., Weber D. J., Sobsey M. D. Survival of surrogate coronaviruses in water. Water Research, 2009, v. 43 (7), pp. 1893–1898.
13. Sobsey M. D., Meschke J. S. Virus survival in the environment with special attention to survival in sewage droplets and other environmental media of fecal or respiratory origin. Report for the World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland, 2003, 70 p.
14. Ye Y., Ellenberg R. M., Graham K. E., Wigginton K. R. Survivability, partitioning, and recovery of enveloped viruses in untreated municipal wastewater. Environmental Science and Technology, 2016, v. 50 (10), pp. 5077–5085.
15. Chin A. W. H., Chu J. T. S., Perera M. R. A., et al. Stability of SARS-CoV-2 in different environmental conditions. The Lancet Microbe, 2020, v. 1 (1), e10.
16. Wang X. W., Li J., Guo T., et al. Concentration and detection of SARS coronavirus in sewage from Xiao Tang Shan Hospital and the 309th Hospital of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. Water Science and Technology, 2005, v. 52 (8), pp. 213–221.
17. Pastorino B., Touret F., Gilles M., et al. Evaluation of heating and chemical protocols for inactivating SARS-CoV-2. BioRxiv, 2020.
18. Aquino de Carvalho N., Stachler E. N., Cimabue N., Bibby K. Evaluation of Phi6 persistence and suitability as an enveloped virus surrogate. Environmental Science and Technology, 2017, v. 51 (15), pp. 8692–8700.
19. Mariani A., Bonfio C., Johnson C. M., Sutherland J. D. pH-Driven RNA strand separation under prebiotically plausible conditions. Biochemistry, 2018, v. 57 (45), pp. 6382–6386.
20. Schaub S. A., Sorber C. A., Taylor G. W., et al. Virus survival in water and wastewater systems. Texas University, Center for Research in Water Resources, 2017, Symposium Series, no. 7.
21. Okoh A. I., Sibanda T., Gusha S. S. Inadequately treated wastewater as a source of human enteric viruses in the environment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2010, v. 7 (6), pp. 2620–2637.
22. Rehnstam-Holm A. S., Hernroth B. Shellfish and public health: a Swedish perspective, Ambio. Journal of the Human Environment, 2005, v. 34 (2), pp. 139–144.
23. Blanco A., Abid I., Al-Otaibi N., et al. Glass wool concentration optimization for the detection of enveloped and non-enveloped waterborne viruses. Food and Environmental Virology, 2019, v. 11 (2), pp. 184–192.
24. Alexyuk M. S., Turmagambetova A. S., Alexyuk P. G., et al. Comparative study of viromes from freshwater samples of the Ile-Balkhash region of Kazakhstan captured through metagenomic analysis. Virus Diseases, 2017, v. 28 (1), pp. 18–25.
25. Rimoldi S. G., Stefani F., Gigantiello A., et al. Presence and vitality of SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewaters and rivers. Science of the Total Environment, 2020, v. 744, pn 140911.
26. Chatterjee A., Sicheritz-Ponten T., Yadav R., Kondabagil K. Genomic and metagenomic signatures of giant viruses are ubiquitous in water samples from sewage, inland lake, waste water treatment plant, and municipal water supply in Mumbai. India Science Reports, 2019, v. 9, pp. 1–9.
27. Prevost B., Lucas F. S., Goncalves A., et al. Large scale survey of enteric viruses in river and waste water underlines the health status of the local population. Environmental International, 2015, v. 79, pp. 42–50.
28. Medema G., Heijnen L., Elsinga G., et al. Presence of SARS-Coronavirus-2 RNA in sewage and correlation with reported COVID-19 prevalence in the early stage of the epidemic in the Netherlands. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 2020, v. 7, pp. 511–516.
29. Wu F., Xiao A., Zhang J., et al. SARS-CoV-2 titers in wastewater are higher than expected from clinically confirmed cases, MedRxiv, 2020.
30. Arora S., Nag A., Sethi J., et al. Sewage surveillance for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 genome as a useful wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) tracking tool in India. MedRxiv, 2020.
31. Randazzo W., Truchado P., Cuevas-Ferrando E., et al. SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater anticipated COVID-19 occurrence in a low prevalence area. Water Research, 2020, v. 181, pn 115942.
32. Wurtzer S., Marechal V., Mouchel J.-M., Moulin L. Time course quantitative detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Parisian wastewaters correlates with COVID-19 confirmed cases. MedRxiv, 2020.
33. Haramoto E., Malla B., Kitajima M. First environmental surveillance for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater and river water in Japan. MedRxiv, 2020.
34. Kumar M., Patel A. K., Shah A. V., et al. The first proof of the capability of wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 in India through the detection of the genetic material of SARS-CoV-2. MedRxiv, 2020.
35. Lee B. U. Minimum size of respiratory droplets containing SARS-CoV-2 and aerosol transmission possibility. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 2020, v. 17, pn 6960.
36. Ge Z. Y., Yang L. M., Xia J. J., et al. Possible aerosol transmission of COVID-19 and special precautions in dentistry. Journal of Zhejiang University, 2020, no. 53, pp. 1–8.
37. Adhikari U., Chabrelie A., Weir M., et al. A case study evaluating the risk of infection from middle eastern respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in a hospital setting through bioaerosols. Risk Analysis, 2019, v. 39 (12), pp. 2608–2624.
38. Lin K., Marr L. C. Aerosolization of Ebola virus surrogates in wastewater systems. Environmental Science and Technology, 2017, v. 51 (5), pp. 2669–2675.
39. Van Leuken J. P. G., Swart A. N., Havelaar A. H., et al. Atmospheric dispersion modelling of bioaerosols that are pathogenic to humans and livestock: A review to inform risk assessment studies. Microbial Risk Analysis, 2016, v. 1, pp. 19–39.
40. Pyankov O. V., Bodnev S. A., Pyankova O. G., Agranovski I. E. Survival of aerosolized coronavirus in the ambient air. Journal of Aerosol Science, 2018, v. 115, pp. 158–163.
41. Xiao S., Li Y., Wong T. W., Hui D. S. Role of fomites in SARS transmission during the largest hospital outbreak in Hong Kong. PLOS ONE, 2017, v. 12 (7), e0181558.
42. Prado T., de Castro Bruni A., Barbosa M. R. F., et al. Performance of wastewater reclamation systems in enteric virus removal. Science of the Total Environment, 2019, v. 678, pp. 33–42.
43. Carducci A., Battistini R., Rovini E., Verani M. Viral removal by wastewater treatment: monitoring of indicators and pathogens. Food and Environmental Virology, 2009, v. 1, pp. 85–91.
44. Zhou J., Wang X. C., Ji Z., et al. Source identification of bacterial and viral pathogens and their survival/fading in the process of wastewater treatment, reclamation, and environmental reuse. World Journal of Microbiology and Biotechnology, 2015, v. 31, pp. 109–120.
45. Elliott M., Stauber C., Koksal F., et al. Reductions of E. coli, echovirus type 12 and bacteriophages in an intermittently operated household-scale slow sand filter. Water Research, 2008, v. 42 (10–11), pp. 2662–2670.
46. Sidhu J. P. S., Sena K., Hodgers L., et al. Comparative enteric viruses and coliphage removal during wastewater treatment processes in a sub-tropical environment. Science of the Total Environment, 2018, v. 616, pp. 669–677.
47. Verbyla M. E., Mihelcic J. R. A review of virus removal in wastewater treatment pond systems. Water Research, 2015, v. 71, pp. 107–124.
48. Sassi H. P., Ikner L. A., Abd-Elmaksoud S., et al.Comparative survival of viruses during thermophilic and mesophilic anaerobic digestion. Science of the Total Environment, 2018, v. 615, pp. 15–19.
49. Miura T., Schaeffer J., Le Saux J. C., et al. Virus type-specific removal in a full-scale membrane bioreactor treatment process. Food and Environmental Virology, 2018, v. 10 (2), pp. 176–186.
50. Simmons F., Kuo D., Xagoraraki I., et al. Removal of human enteric viruses by a full-scale membrane bioreactor during municipal wastewater processing. Water Research, 2011, v. 45 (9), pp. 2739–2750.
51. Inagaki H., Saito A., Sugiyama H., et al. Rapid inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 with Deep-UV LED irradiation. BioRxiv, 2020.
52. Pinon A., Vialette M. Survival of viruses in water. Intervirology, 2018, v. 61 (5), pp. 214–222.
53. Smith E. C., Denison M. R. Coronaviruses as DNA wannabes: a new model for the regulation of RNA virus replication fidelity. PLOS Pathogens, 2013, v. 9 (12), e1003760.
54. Romano-Bertrand S., Aho Glele L.-S., Grandbastien B., et al. Preventing SARS-CoV-2 transmission in rehabilitation pools and therapeutic water environments. Journal of Hospital Infections, 2020, v. 105, pp. 625–627.
55. Zheng X., Wang Q., Chen L. Photocatalytic membrane reactor (PMR) for virus removal in water: performance and mechanisms. Chemical Engineering Journal, 2015, v. 277, pp. 124–129.
56. Wigginton K. R., Pecson B. M., Sigstam T., et al. Virus inactivation mechanisms: impact of disinfectants on virus function and structural integrity. Environmental Science and Technology, 2012, v. 46 (21), pp. 12069–12078.
57. Delanka-Pedige H. M. K., Cheng X., Munasinghe-Arachchige S. P., et al. Metagenomic insights into virus removal performance of an algal-based wastewater treatment system utilizing Galdieria sulphuraria. Algal Research, 2020, v. 47, pn 101865.
58. Кофман В. Я. Химико-информационная разработка сточных вод // Водоснабжение и санитарная техника. 2018. № 2. С. 26–34.
    Kofman V. Ia. [Chemical information study of wastewater]. Vodosnabzhenie i Sanitarnaia Tekhnika, 2018, no. 2, pp. ­26–34. (In Russian).
59. Wastewater doesn’t lie: Corona-virus recognized via wastewater treatment plants. Global Recycling, 2020, v. 6, no. 3, рр. 34–37.
60. Medema G., Heijnen L., Italiaander R., Brouwer A. Presence of SARS-Coronavirus-2 RNA in sewage and correlation with reported COVID-19 prevalence in the early stage of the epidemic in the Netherlands. Environmental Science and Technology Letters, 2020, v. 7 (7), pp. 511–516.
61. Lodder W., de Roda Husman A. M. SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater: potential health risk, but also data source. The Lancet Gastroenterology and Hepatology, 2020, v. 5 (6), pp. 533–534.