Wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in a small coastal community: Effects of tourism on viral presence and variant identification among low prevalence populations.

ABSTRACT: Wastewater-based epidemiology has been used to measure SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in cities worldwide as an indicator of community health, however, few longitudinal studies have followed SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater in small communities from the start of the pandemic or evaluated the influence of tourism on viral loads. Therefore the objective of this study was to use measurements of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater to monitor viral trends and variants in a small island community over a twelve-month period beginning May 1, 2020, before the community re-opened to tourists. Wastewater samples were collected weekly and analyzed to detect and quantify SARS-CoV-2 genome copies. Sanger sequencing was used to determine genome sequences from total RNA extracted from wastewater samples positive for SARS-CoV-2. Visi

SUBMITTER: Rainey AL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8820684 | biostudies-literature | 2022 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature