The presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in different freshwater environments in urban settings determined by RT-qPCR: Implications for water safety.

Autor: Mahlknecht J; Centro del Agua para América Latina y el Caribe, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon CP 64849, Mexico. Electronic address: jurgen@tec.mx., Padilla Reyes DA; Centro del Agua para América Latina y el Caribe, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon CP 64849, Mexico., Ramos E; Centro del Agua para América Latina y el Caribe, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon CP 64849, Mexico., Reyes LM; Centro de Biotecnología-FEMSA, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon CP 64849, Mexico., Álvarez MM; Centro de Biotecnología-FEMSA, Escuela de Ingeniería y Ciencias, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon CP 64849, Mexico. Electronic address: mario.alvarez@tec.mx.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: The Science of the total environment [Sci Total Environ] 2021 Aug 25; Vol. 784, pp. 147183. Date of Electronic Publication: 2021 Apr 19.
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147183
Abstrakt: This study is the first focused on the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in different freshwater environments in an urban setting. Groundwater and surface water reservoirs for drinking water as well as water from receiving rivers of the Monterrey Metropolitan Area were sampled repeatedly during a SARS-CoV-2 peak phase between October 2020 and January 2021, and viral RNA was measured by quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. Forty-four percent of the groundwater samples had detectable viral loads between 2.6 and 38.3 copies/ml. A significant correlation between viral load and sucralose concentration in groundwater reaffirmed the hypothesis of leaching and infiltrating effluent from surface and/or failing sewage pipes and emphasized the importance of water disinfection. Twelve percent of the surface water dam samples tested positive for viral RNA, with values varying between 3.3 and 3.8 copies/ml. Finally, 13% of the river samples were positive for viral RNA, with concentrations ranging from 2.5 to 7.0 copies/ml. Untreated wastewater samples taken in the same period showed viral loads of up to 3535 copies/ml, demonstrating a dilution effect and/or wastewater facilities efficiency of three orders of magnitude. Variations in the viral loads in the groundwater and surface water over time and at the submetropolitan level generally reflected the reported trends in infection cases for Monterrey. The viral loads in the freshwater environments of Monterrey represent a low risk for recreational activities according to a preliminary risk assessment model. However, this result should not be taken lightly due to uncertainty regarding data and model constraints and the possibility of situations where the infection risk may increase considerably.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
(Copyright © 2021 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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