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Detecting COVID-19 Variants in Wastewater

The tracking of RNA material from the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater has been proposed worldwide as an epidemiological tool and early warning system to help combat the COVID-19 pandemic. Wastewater-based epidemiology aims to complement other COVID-19 surveillance data, including clinical testing, by providing pooled data for a specific area including symptomatic and asymptomatic patients, and to provide data where COVID-19 clinical testing is limited.

Programme Detail

Starts
Apr 13, 2021

Language

English

Member fee: $0.00

Standard fee: $0.00

Description
Target Audience
Learning Objectives
Learning Format

Webinar Video

Webinar Presentation

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Description

The emergence of more virulent SARS-CoV-2 strains worldwide has increased the need to keep track of variants and their abundance. Limited published research has shown the presence of variants of SARS-CoV-2 in the sewershed. Tracking of these variants and their abundance in the sewershed could provide an early warning system for more virulent strains.

This webinar will present the latest and most appropriate methodologies, research and findings with respect to detecting SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater. The event is open to all interested parties to understand how wastewater-based epidemiology can be used to support public health decisions and identify the genetic diversity and prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 variants in a given population.

**Webinar Resources ** Here are some resources recommended by the webinar panelists:

Papers

  • Rapid screening for SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in clinical and environmental samples using nested RT-PCR assays targeting key mutations of the spike protein; G. La Rosa, P. Mancini, G. Bonanno Ferraro, C. Veneri, M. Iaconelli, L. Lucentini, L. Bonadonna, S. Brusaferro, D. Brandtner, A. Fasanella, L. Pace, A. Parisi, D. Galante, E. Suffredini; Water Research; 2021 (Open Access) Preprints
  • Droplet Digital RT-PCR to detect SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern in wastewater; L. Heijnen, G. Elsinga, M. de Graaf, R. Molenkamp, M.P.G. Koopmans, G. Medema; medRxiv; 2021 (Open Access)
  • Detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants in Switzerland by genomic analysis of wastewater samples; K. Jahn, D. Dreifuss, I. Topolsky, A. Kull, P. Ganesanandamoorthy, X. Fernandez-Cassi, C. Bänziger, E. Stachler, L. Fuhrmann, K.P. Jablonski, C. Chen, C. Aquino, T. Stadler, C. Ort, T. Kohn, T.R. Julian, N. Beerenwinkel; medRxiv; 2021 (Open Access)
  • Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 circulation and diversity through community wastewater sequencing; R. Izquierdo-Lara, G. Elsinga, L. Heijnen, B.B.O. Munnink, C.M.E. Schapendonk, D. Nieuwenhuijse, M. Kon, L. Lu, F.M. Aarestrup, S. Lycett, G. Medema, M.P.G. Koopmans, M. de Graaf; medRxiv; 2020 (Open Access)

Websites - SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater; Eawag (Open Access) - V-pipe: A bioinformatics pipeline for viral sequencing data; Github (Open Access) - COJAC – CoOccurrence adJusted Analysis and Calling; Github (Open Access)

Panelists

Target Audience

Public health, water and sanitation professionals; water utilities; science councils; consultants; universities; research, commercial and pathology laboratories

Learning Objectives

Following this webinar, participants will be able to:

  • Understand the methodologies associated with SARS-CoV-2 variant detection;
  • Appreciate the usefulness of the wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) approach to support clinical data on evolving SARS CoV 2 variants;
  • Identify the steps required to monitor variants in a sewershed and keep track of which variants are becoming virulent through their abundance.

Learning Format