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All Subjects: COVID-19

Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 Through Wastewater-Based Epidemiology and COVID-19 Clinical Testing Data on a Large US University Campus

Description

As the return to normality in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic enters its early stages, the necessity for accurate, quick, and community-wide surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 has been emphasized. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been used across the world as a tool for monitoring the pandemic, but studies of its efficacy in comparison to the best-known method for surveillance, randomly selected COVID-19 testing, has limited research. This study evaluated the trends and correlations present between SARS-CoV-2 in the effluent wastewater of a large university campus and random COVID-19 testing results published by the university. A moderately strong positive correlation was found between the random testing and WBE surveillance methods (r = 0.63), and this correlation was strengthened when accommodating for lost samples during the experiment (r = 0.74).

ContributorsWright, Jillian (Author) / Halden, Rolf (Thesis director) / Driver, Erin (Committee member) / School of Music, Dance and Theatre (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)

Created2021-05

Novel Applications of Wastewater-based Epidemiology for Assessing Population Nutrition, Infectious Disease, and Chronic Illness

Description

Traditional public health strategies for assessing human behavior, exposure, and activity are considered resource-exhaustive, time-consuming, and expensive, warranting a need for alternative methods to enhance data acquisition and subsequent interventions. This dissertation critically evaluated the use of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as an inclusive and non-invasive tool for conducting near real-time population health assessments. A rigorous literature review was performed to gauge the current landscape of WBE to monitor for biomarkers indicative of diet, as well as exposure to estrogen-mimicking endocrine disrupting (EED) chemicals via route of ingestion. Wastewater-derived measurements of phytoestrogens from August 2017 through July 2019 (n = 156 samples) in a small sewer catchment revealed seasonal patterns, with highest average per capita consumption rates in January through March of each year (2018: 7.0 ± 2.0 mg d-1; 2019: 8.2 ± 2.3 mg d-1) and statistically significant differences (p = 0.01) between fall and winter (3.4 ± 1.2 vs. 6.1 ± 2.9 mg d-1; p ≤ 0.01) and spring and summer (5.6 ± 2.1 vs. 3.4 ± 1.5 mg d-1; p ≤ 0.01). Additional investigations, including a human gut microbial composition analysis of community wastewater, were performed to support a methodological framework for future implementation of WBE to assess population-level dietary behavior. In response to the COVID-19 global pandemic, a high-frequency, high-resolution sample collection approach with public data sharing was implemented throughout the City of Tempe, Arizona, and analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 (E gene) from April 2020 through March 2021 (n = 1,556 samples). Results indicate early warning capability during the first wave (June 2020) compared to newly reported clinical cases (8.5 ± 2.1 days), later transitioning to a slight lagging indicator in December/January 2020-21 (-2.0 ± 1.4 days). A viral hotspot from within a larger catchment area was detected, prompting targeted interventions to successfully mitigate community spread; reinforcing the importance of sample collection within the sewer infrastructure. I conclude that by working in tandem with traditional approaches, WBE can enlighten a comprehensive understanding of population health, with methods and strategies implemented in this work recommended for future expansion to produce timely, actionable data in support of public health.

ContributorsBowes, Devin Ashley (Author) / Halden, Rolf U (Thesis advisor) / Krajmalnik-Brown, Rosa (Thesis advisor) / Conroy-Ben, Otakuye (Committee member) / Varsani, Arvind (Committee member) / Whisner, Corrie (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)

Created2022

Tracking Population Trends in Acetaminophen and Ibuprofen Through Wastewater-Based Epidemiology During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Description

The COVID-19 pandemic caused uncertainty and changing public health recommendations across the world as our understanding of the SARS-CoV-2 virus changed. Following a preliminary assessment by the World Health Organization, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs were said to worsen symptoms and should be avoided before the recommendation was subsequently revoked. There also was pain associated with infection, leading to the hypothesis that use of over-the-counter pain medication increases may correlate with increases of SARS-CoV-2 infections. Wastewater samples were collected from two communities in Tempe, AZ from December 2019 to July 2020 (n = 35) and were analyzed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) to identify levels of acetaminophen, ibuprofen and their metabolites, acetaminophen sulfate and carboxy-ibuprofen. Results showed 100% detection frequency of all analytes in all samples across the duration of the study. Mass loadings of acetaminophen (918.4 g day-1 +/- 354.8 g day-1) were higher than ibuprofen (182.9 g day-1 +/- 49.8 g day-1), potentially driven by flushing behaviors rather than consumption activities. However, ibuprofen was more heavily consumed than acetaminophen across all days of the study period. Comparisons to COVID-19 clinical cases data showed increased use in ibuprofen with increases in clinical cases loads, while acetaminophen showed no change, suggesting ibuprofen was the over the counter (OTC) medication of choice during the first wave of the pandemic.

ContributorsSavic, Sonja (Author) / Halden, Rolf (Thesis director) / Driver, Erin (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Sustainability (Contributor) / School of Life Sciences (Contributor)

Created2022-05