1. Assessment of a SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring program in El Paso, Texas, from November 2020 to June 2022.
- Author
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Gitter, Anna, Bauer, Cici, Wu, Fuqing, Ramphul, Ryan, Chavarria, Carlos, Zhang, Kehe, Petrosino, Joseph, Mezzari, Melissa, Gallegos, Gabriela, Terwilliger, Austen L., Clark, Justin R., Feliz, Karen, Avadhanula, Vasanthi, Piedra, Tony, Weesner, Kyle, Maresso, Anthony, and Mena, Kristina D.
- Subjects
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SEWAGE analysis , *VIRAL pneumonia , *PUBLIC health surveillance , *REVERSE transcriptase polymerase chain reaction , *COVID-19 , *SARS-CoV-2 , *WATER , *ENVIRONMENTAL health , *COLLECTION & preservation of biological specimens , *HEALTH promotion , *ENVIRONMENTAL exposure - Abstract
The border city of El Paso, Texas, and its water utility, El Paso Water, initiated a SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring program to assess virus trends and the appropriateness of a wastewater monitoring program for the community. Nearly weekly sample collection at four wastewater treatment facilities (WWTFs), serving distinct regions of the city, was analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 genes using the CDC 2019-Novel coronavirus Real-Time RT-PCR diagnostic panel. Virus concentrations ranged from 86.7 to 268,000 gc/L, varying across time and at each WWTF. The lag time between virus concentrations in wastewater and reported COVID-19 case rates (per 100,00 population) ranged from 4–24 days for the four WWTFs, with the strongest trend occurring from November 2021 - June 2022. This study is an assessment of the utility of a geographically refined SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring program to supplement public health efforts that will manage the virus as it becomes endemic in El Paso. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2024
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