Post-lockdown detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the wastewater of Montpellier, France
Julie Trottier, Régis Darques, Nassim Aït-Mouheb, Emma Partiot, William Bakhache, Maïka S. Deffieu, Raphaël Gaudin
Abstract
The evolution of the COVID-19 pandemic can be monitored through the detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage. Here, we measured the amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA at the inflow point of the main waste water treatment plant (WWTP) of Montpellier, France. We collected samples 4 days before the end of lockdown and up to 70 days post-lockdown. We detected increased amounts of SARS-CoV-2 RNA at the WWTP from mid-June on, whereas the number of new COVID-19 cases in the area started increasing a couple of weeks later. Future epidemiologic investigations shall explain such asynchronous finding.
Topics & Concepts
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)SewageRNA2019-20 coronavirus outbreakVirologyPandemicBiologyEnvironmental scienceMedicineEnvironmental engineeringGenePathologyInfectious disease (medical specialty)OutbreakGeneticsDiseaseSARS-CoV-2 detection and testingSARS-CoV-2 and COVID-19 ResearchCOVID-19 Clinical Research Studies