Spatial and Temporal Trends of SARS-CoV-2 RNA from Wastewater Treatment Plants over 6 Weeks in Cape Town, South Africa

Renée Street, Angela Mathee, Noluxabiso Mangwana, Stephanie Dias, Jyoti Rajan Sharma, Pritika Ramharack, Johan Louw, Tarylee Reddy, Ludwig Brocker, Swastika Surujlal-Naicker, Natacha Berkowitz, Mokaba Shirley Malema, Sizwe Nkambule, Candice Webster, Nomfundo Mahlangeni, Huub Gelderblom, Mongezi Mdhluli, Glenda Gray, Christo Muller and Rabia Johnson
Additional contact information
Renée Street: Environment & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Angela Mathee: Environment & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Noluxabiso Mangwana: Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Stephanie Dias: Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Jyoti Rajan Sharma: Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Pritika Ramharack: Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Johan Louw: Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Tarylee Reddy: Biostatistics Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Ludwig Brocker: Department of Microbiology, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7600, South Africa
Swastika Surujlal-Naicker: Scientific Services, Water and Sanitation Department, City of Cape Town Metropolitan Municipality, Cape Town 8000, South Africa
Natacha Berkowitz: Community Services and Health, City Health, City of Cape Town, Hertzog Boulevard, Cape Town 8001, South Africa
Mokaba Shirley Malema: Environment & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Sizwe Nkambule: Environment & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Candice Webster: Environment & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Nomfundo Mahlangeni: Environment & Health Research Unit, South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Huub Gelderblom: COVID-19 Prevention Network (COVPN), Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, WA 98109, USA
Mongezi Mdhluli: Office of the President, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg 7050, South Africa
Glenda Gray: Chief Research Operations Office, South African Medical Research Council, Tygerberg 7050, South Africa
Christo Muller: Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa
Rabia Johnson: Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform (BRIP), South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC), Tygerberg 7505, South Africa

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 22, 1-9

Abstract: Recent scientific trends have revealed that the collection and analysis of data on the occurrence and fate of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater may serve as an early warning system for COVID-19. In South Africa, the first COVID-19 epicenter emerged in the Western Cape Province. The City of Cape Town, located in the Western Cape Province, has approximately 4 million inhabitants. This study reports on the monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the wastewater of the City of Cape Town’s wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) during the peak of the epidemic. During this period, the highest overall median viral RNA signal was observed in week 1 (9200 RNA copies/mL) and declined to 127 copies/mL in week 6. The overall decrease in the amount of detected viral SARS-CoV-2 RNA over the 6-week study period was associated with a declining number of newly identified COVID-19 cases in the city. The SARS-CoV-2 early warning system has now been established to detect future waves of COVID-19.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-2; COVID-19; wastewater; environmental epidemiology; South Africa (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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