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Comparison of gene targets and sampling regimes for SARS-CoV-2 quantification for wastewater epidemiology in UK prisons

Lookup NU author(s): Dr Kelly JoblingORCiD, Marcos Quintela-Baluja, Panagiota Adamou, Adrian Blackburn, Professor David GrahamORCiD

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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Abstract

Prisons are high-risk settings for infectious disease transmission, due to their enclosed and semi-enclosed environments. The proximity between prisoners and staff, and the diversity of prisons reduces the effectiveness of non-pharmaceutical interventions, such as social distancing. Therefore, alternative health monitoring methods, such as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), are needed to track pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2. This pilot study assessed WBE to quantify SARS-CoV-2 prevalence in prison wastewater to determine its utility within a health protection system for residents. The study analysed 266 samples from six prisons in England over a 12-week period for nucleoprotein 1 (N1 gene) and envelope protein (E gene) using quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Both gene assays successfully detected SARS-CoV-2 fragments in wastewater samples, with both genes significantly correlating with COVID-19 case numbers across the prisons (p < 0.01). However, in 25% of the SARS-positive samples, only one gene target was detected, suggesting that both genes be used to reduce false-negative results. No significant differences were observed between 14- and 2-h composite samples, although 2-h samples showed greater signal variance. Population normalisation did not improve correlations between the N1 and E genes and COVID-19 case data. Overall, WBE shows considerable promise for health protection in prison settings.

Publication metadata

Author(s): Jobling K, Quintela-Baluja M, Hassard F, Adamou P, Blackburn A, Term Research Team, McIntyre-Nolan S, O'Mara O, Romalde JL, Di Cesare M, Graham DW

Publication type: Article

Publication status: Published

Journal: Journal of Water and Health

Year: 2024

Volume: 22

Issue: 1

Pages: 64-76

Print publication date: 01/01/2024

Online publication date: 02/12/2023

Acceptance date: 26/11/2023

Date deposited: 19/02/2024

ISSN (print): 1477-8920

ISSN (electronic): 1996-7829

Publisher: IWA Publishing

URL: https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2023.093

DOI: 10.2166/wh.2023.093

Data Access Statement: Data cannot be made publicly available; readers should contact the corresponding author for details.

PubMed id: 38295073

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