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
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
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DOI：
10.1021/acs.estlett.0c00357
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发表时间：
2020-07-14
影响因子：
10.9
通讯作者：
Brouwer, Anke
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Medema, Gertjan;Heijnen, Leo;Brouwer, Anke
在当前的新冠肺炎大流行中，相当大比例的病例与粪便一起排出了SARS冠状病毒。为了确定在荷兰新冠肺炎出现期间污水中是否存在SARS-CoV-2RNA，我们使用了四种qRT-PCR法对六个城市和机场的污水样本进行了检测，其中三种针对核衣壳基因(N1-N3)，一种针对包膜基因(E)。2月6日，也就是报告首例荷兰病例的3周前，没有检测到SARS-CoV-2 RNA。3月4日/5日，在三个地点的污水中检测到一个或多个基因片段，浓度为2.6-30个基因拷贝/毫升。在阿默斯福特，在报告第一例病例前6天，在污水中检测到N3。随着3月份新冠肺炎在这些城市的流行程度增加，每次定量RT-PCR法检测到的RNA信号都有所增加，N1-N3病毒的基因拷贝数高达每毫升790-2200个。这一增加与报告的新冠肺炎患病率的增加显著相关。污水中病毒核糖核酸的检测，即使在新冠肺炎流行率较低的情况下，以及污水浓度与报告的新冠肺炎流行率之间的相关性，表明污水监测可能是监测病毒在人群中传播的敏感工具。
In the current COVID-19 pandemic, a significant proportion of cases shed SARS-Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) with their faeces. To determine if SARS-CoV-2 RNA was present in sewage during the emergence of COVID-19 in The Netherlands, sewage samples of six cities and the airport were tested using four qRT-PCR assays, three targeting the nucleocapsid gene (N1-N3) and one the envelope gene (E). No SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected on February 6, 3 weeks before the first Dutch case was reported. On March 4/5, one or more gene fragments were detected in sewage of three sites, in concentrations of 2.6-30 gene copies per mL. In Amersfoort, N3 was detected in sewage 6 days before the first cases were reported. As the prevalence of COVID-19 in these cities increased in March, the RNA signal detected by each qRT-PCR assay increased, for N1-N3 up to 790-2200 gene copies per mL. This increase correlated significantly with the increase in reported COVID-19 prevalence. The detection of the virus RNA in sewage, even when the COVID-19 prevalence is low, and the correlation between concentration in sewage and reported prevalence of COVID-19, indicate that sewage surveillance could be a sensitive tool to monitor the circulation of the virus in the population.