Wastewater based epidemiology as a silent sentinel of the trend of SARS-CoV-2 circulation in the community in central Argentina

MASACHESSI, GISELA; CASTRO, GONZALO; CACHI, ARIANA MARIELA; MARINZALDA, MARÍA DE LOS ÁNGELES; LIENDO, MATÍAS; PISANO, MARÍA BELÉN; SICILIA, PAOLA; IBARRA, GUSTAVO; ROJAS, RICARDO MANUEL; LÓPEZ, LAURA; BARBÁS, GABRIELA; CARDOZO, DIEGO; RÉ, VIVIANA ELISABETH; NATES, SILVIA VIVIANA

WATER RESEARCH

PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD

Año: 2022 vol. 219

0043-1354

onitoring wastewater for the traces of viruses allows effective surveillance of entire communities, including symptomatic and asymptomatic infected individuals, providing information on whether a specific pathogen is circulating in a population. In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, 261 wastewater samples from six communities of the province of Córdoba, Argentina were analyzed. From mid-May 2020 to the end of August 2021, raw sewage samples were collected from the central network pipe that enters into the Wastewater Treatment Plants (WWTP) in Córdoba city and five communities in the Punilla Valley. SARS-CoV-2 was concentrated by using the polyethylene glycol-6000 precipitation method. Viral genomes were extracted from concentrated samples, and N- and E-SARS-CoV-2 genes were detected by using real time RT-PCR. Wastewater samples that resulted positive for SARS-CoV-2 genome detection were subjected to viral variants of concern (VOCs) identification by real time RT-PCR. Overall, just