DETECTION OF SARS-CoV-2 IN WASTEWATER ON THE METROPOLITAN REGION OF GRANDE VITÓRIA (RMGV) WITH A WASTEWATER-BASED EPIDEMIOLOGY PROPOSAL (WBE)
Name: Lucas Luís Meigre Dias Pereira
Type: MSc dissertation
Publication date: 29/03/2022
Advisor:
Name | Role |
---|---|
Sérvio Túlio Alves Cassini | Advisor * |
Examining board:
Name | Role |
---|---|
Larissa Bernardino Moro | External Examiner * |
Liliana Cruz Spano | External Examiner * |
Regina de Pinho Keller | Internal Examiner * |
Sérvio Túlio Alves Cassini | Advisor * |
Summary: After the initial identification of SARS-CoV-2 and the WHO declaration of the COVID
19 pandemic, which took place on March 11, 2020, Medema et al (2020) described
that, through the analysis of samples of raw wastewater from wastewater treatment
plants and airports, it was possible to identify SARS-COV-2, being the first work to
detect the virus in wastewater samples. Therefore, this study aims to carry out the
detection of sars-cov-2 in wastewater from the metropolitan region of Grande Vitória
(RMGV), in the state of Espírito Santo, on polluted rivers and hospitals and to establish,
through a developed computational tool, a proposal for the compilation and
dissemination of data based on wastewater-based epidemiology (SBE). Samples of
raw wastewater were collected by simple sampling in polluted rivers and hospitals and
concentrated through precipitation by polyethylene glycol. RNA was extracted using
magnetic beads and detection was performed through the target genes E and RdRp.
In the total of samples evaluated, seven (25.9%) were determined to be positive for
the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in polluted rivers with an average Ct of 26 and thirty-two
(45.7%) in hospitals with an average Ct of 28 .It was possible to detect SARS-CoV-2
VoCs in 4 samples from polluted rivers, with the gama variant (P1) being detected. The
algorithms used to test the computational tool did not show satisfactory linearity of
results, however, they showed the function of the developed tool. This study is the first
to establish the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in raw wasteeater from ditches, in population
groups located in the city of Vila Velha, Espírito Santo and in hospitals in the
metropolitan region, successfully implementing the proposed methodology. It is
recommended the maintenance and development of new studies that seek to define
standards for environmental monitoring and that contribute to the advancement and
implementation of the computational tool tested here for local approaches and
strategies of wastewater-based epidemiology (SBE).