Wastewater monitoring outperforms case numbers as a tool to track COVID-19 incidence dynamics when test positivity rates are high.

ABSTRACT: Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been shown to coincide with, or anticipate, confirmed COVID-19 case numbers. During periods with high test positivity rates, however, case numbers may be underreported, whereas wastewater does not suffer from this limitation. Here we investigated how the dynamics of new COVID-19 infections estimated based on wastewater monitoring or confirmed cases compare to true COVID-19 incidence dynamics. We focused on the first pandemic wave in Switzerland (February to April, 2020), when test positivity ranged up to 26%. SARS-CoV-2 RNA loads were determined 2-4 times per week in three Swiss wastewater treatment plants (Lugano, Lausanne and Zurich). Wastewater and case data were combined with a shedding load distribution and an infection-to-case confirmation dela

SUBMITTER: Fernandez-Cassi X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8126994 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature