Table 1.
Recent wastewater surveillance studies that indicate the potential of COVID-19 early warning via WBE.
| Region | Sample type | Primary concentration method | Sampling period | Population size in the WWTP catchment area | Major findings related to early warning potential | Reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murcia, Spain | Grab raw sewage | Al(OH)3 adsorption-precipitation | 2020/03/12–2020/04/14 | Multiple, from ~28,000 to ~530,000 | Wastewater samples from three WWTPs were tested positive 12–16 days before COVID-19 cases were reported in the respective catchment regions | (Randazzo et al., 2020) |
| Amersfoort, The Netherlands | Composite raw sewage | Ultrafiltration | 2020/02/05–2020/03/25 | ~234,000 | Sewage signaled virus circulation 6 days before the first cases were reported | (Medema et al., 2020b) |
| Milan, Italy | Composite raw sewage | PEG/dextran precipitation | 2020/02/03–2020/04/02 | ~1,050,000 | Samples were tested positive when the COVID-19 infections were very limited (29 in a larger area) | (La Rosa et al., 2020b) |
| Ishikawa, Japan | Grab raw sewage | PEG precipitation | 2020/03/05–2020/04/21 | Multiple, from ~31,000 to ~233,000 | Samples were tested positive when the prevalence was lower than one confirmed case per 100,000 people | (Hata et al., 2020) |
| Bozeman, MT, USA | Composite raw sewage | Ultrafiltration | 2020/03/30–2020/06/12 | ~50,000 | SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in wastewater precede clinical PCR test results by 2–4 days | (Nemudryi et al., 2020) |
| New Haven, CT, USA | Primary sewage sludge | \ | 2020/03/19–2020/06/01 | ~200,000 | SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in sludge predate hospital admissions by 1–4 days | (Peccia et al., 2020) |