Wastewater Levels of Respiratory Syncytial Virus Associated with Influenza-like Illness Rates in Children—A Case Study in Larissa, Greece (October 2022–January 2023)

Michalis Koureas, Kassiani Mellou, Alexandros Vontas, Maria Kyritsi, Ioannis Panagoulias, Anastasia Koutsolioutsou, Varvara A. Mouchtouri, Matthaios Speletas, Dimitrios Paraskevis and Christos Hadjichristodoulou ()
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Michalis Koureas: Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakyriazi Str., 41222 Larissa, Greece
Kassiani Mellou: National Public Health Organization, 15123 Athens, Greece
Alexandros Vontas: Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakyriazi Str., 41222 Larissa, Greece
Maria Kyritsi: Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakyriazi Str., 41222 Larissa, Greece
Ioannis Panagoulias: National Public Health Organization, 15123 Athens, Greece
Anastasia Koutsolioutsou: National Public Health Organization, 15123 Athens, Greece
Varvara A. Mouchtouri: Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakyriazi Str., 41222 Larissa, Greece
Matthaios Speletas: Department of Immunology and Histocompatibility, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 41500 Larissa, Greece
Dimitrios Paraskevis: National Public Health Organization, 15123 Athens, Greece
Christos Hadjichristodoulou: Laboratory of Hygiene and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, 22 Papakyriazi Str., 41222 Larissa, Greece

IJERPH, 2023, vol. 20, issue 6, 1-6

Abstract: The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has led to significant progress in the field of wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) of respiratory pathogens and highlighted its potential for a wider application in public health surveillance. This study aimed to evaluate whether monitoring of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) in wastewater can provide a comprehensive picture of disease transmission at the community level. The study was conducted in Larissa (Central Greece) between October 2022 and January 2023. Forty-six wastewater samples were collected from the inlet of the wastewater treatment plant of Larissa and analyzed with a real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) based method. RSV and SARS-CoV-2 wastewater viral loads (genome copies/100,000 inhabitants) were analyzed against sentinel surveillance data on influenza-like illness (ILI) to identify potential associations. Univariate linear regression analysis revealed that RSV wastewater viral load (lagged by one week) and ILI notification rates in children up to 14 years old were strongly associated (std. Beta: 0.73 (95% CI: 0.31–1.14), p = 0.002, R 2 = 0.308). A weaker association was found between SARS-CoV-2 viral load and ILI rates in the 15+ age group (std. Beta: 0.56 (95% CI: 0.06–1.05), p = 0.032, R 2 = 0.527). The results support the incorporation of RSV monitoring into existing wastewater-based surveillance systems.

Keywords: respiratory syncytial virus; wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE); SARS-CoV-2; influenza-like illness; RT-PCR (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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