ArticleThe Science of the total environment2021
Systematic assessment of SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater, rivers and drinking water - A catchment-wide appraisal.
Article in The Science of the total environment, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 18 citations in OpenAlex.
- Spatial and temporal variability and distribution of emerging contaminants in South African freshwater and wastewater.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater Associated with Scientific Stations in Antarctica and Possible Risk for Wildlife.Microorganisms · 2024Article
- SARS-CoV-2 presence in recreational seawater and evaluation of intestine permeability: experimental evidence of low impact on public health.Frontiers in public health · 2024Article
- COVID-19, the environment and animal life in Malawi compared to other countries: A brief scooping review for a research agenda in the developing countries.Physics and chemistry of the earth (2002) · 2022Article
- Presence and persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in aquatic environments: A mini-review.Current opinion in environmental science & health · 2022Review
- Utilization of SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Surveillance in Africa-A Rapid Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Review
- Cost of wastewater-based environmental surveillance for SARS-CoV-2: Evidence from pilot sites in Blantyre, Malawi and Kathmandu, Nepal.PLOS global public health · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
4 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Human coronaviruses (HCoVs) attracted attention in 2002 with the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak, caused by the SARS-CoV virus (mortality rate 9.6%), and gained further notoriety in 2012 with the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) (mortality rate 34.3%). Currently, the world is experiencing an unprecedented crisis due to the COVID-19 global pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus in 2019. The virus can pass to the faeces of some patients, as was the case of SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV viruses. This suggests that apart from the airborne (droplets and aerosols) and person-to-person (including fomites) transmission, the faecal-oral route of transmission could also be possible for HCoVs. In this eventuality, natural water bodies could act as a virus reservoir of infection. Here, the temporospatial migration and attenuation of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in municipal wastewater, the receiving environment, and drinking water is evaluated, using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR), in the South African setting. SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA was identified in raw wastewater influent but was below the detection limit in the latter treatment stages. This suggests that the virus decays from as early as primary treatment and this could be attributed to wastewater's hydraulic retention time (2-4 h), composition, and more importantly temperature (>25 °C). Therefore, the probability of SARS-CoV-2 virus transportation in water catchments, in the eventuality that the virus remains infective in wastewater, appears to be low in the South African setting. Finally, catchment-wide monitoring offers a snapshot of the status of the catchment in relation to contagious viruses and can play a pivotal role in informing the custodians and downstream water users of potential risks embedded in water bodies.
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Registered trials
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