Journal
WATER RESEARCH
Volume 202, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD
DOI: 10.1016/j.watres.2021.117388
Keywords
Wastewater-based epidemiology; Covid-19; prevalence; Hotspots; Decentralised sewage monitoring; Health vulnerability
Funding
- National Institute of Science and Technology on Sustainable Sewage Treatment Plants
- National Water and Sanitation Agency
- Agencia Nacional de Agua e Saneamento Basico - ANA
- Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico - CNPq
- Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais - FAPEMIG
- Coordenacao de Aperfeicoamento de Pessoal de Nivel Superior - CAPES
- Instituto Nacional de Ciencia e Tecnologia em Estacoes Sustentaveis de Tratamento de Esgoto - INCT ETEs Sustentaveis (INCT Sustainable Sewage Treatment Plants)
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This study assesses the distribution of COVID-19 prevalence in Brazilian cities by monitoring SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage, identifying that the most vulnerable neighborhoods in the city were hit hardest by the pandemic. This indicates that the situation for many Brazilians is much worse than reported by official figures.
Brazil has become one of the epicentres of the COVID-19 pandemic, with cases heavily concentrated in large cities. Testing data is extremely limited and unreliable, which restricts health authorities' ability to deal with the pandemic. Given the stark demographic, social and economic heterogeneities within Brazilian cities, it is important to identify hotspots so that the limited resources available can have the greatest impact. This study shows that decentralised monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage can be used to assess the distribution of COVID-19 prevalence in the city. The methodology developed in this study allowed the identification of hotspots by comprehensively monitoring sewers distributed through Belo Horizonte, Brazil's third largest city. Our results show that the most vulnerable neighbourhoods in the city were the hardest hit by the pandemic, indicating that, for many Brazilians, the situation is much worse than reported by official figures.
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