ArticlePloS one2023
Detection of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater from an enclosed college campus serves as an early warning surveillance system.
Article in PloS one, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 5 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
5 citing papers in PubMed, 11 citations in OpenAlex.
- Long-Term Genomic Surveillance of SARS-CoV‑2 in Campus Wastewater Depicts Lineage Trends and Public Health Implications during and after Omicron Waves.Environment & health (Washington, D.C.) · 2025Article
- Environmental Dissemination of SARS-CoV-2: An Analysis Employing Crassphage and Next-Generation Sequencing Protocols.Food and environmental virology · 2025Article
- Wastewater based surveillance can be used to reduce clinical testing intensity on a university campus.The Science of the total environment · 2024Article
- Article
- Evaluating various composite sampling modes for detecting pathogenic SARS-CoV-2 virus in raw sewage.Frontiers in microbiology · 2023Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
5 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
SARS-CoV-2, the causative agent of Covid-19, is shed from infected persons in respiratory droplets, feces, and urine. Using quantitative PCR (qPCR), our group hypothesized that we could detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples collected on a university campus prior to the detection of the virus in individuals on campus. Wastewater samples were collected 3 times a week from 5 locations on the main campus of the University of North Carolina Wilmington (UNCW) from July 24, 2020 to December 21, 2020. Post-collection, total RNA was extracted and SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the samples was detected by qPCR. SARS-CoV-2 signal was detected on campus beginning on August 19 as classes began and the signal increased in both intensity and breadth as the Fall semester progressed. A comparison of two RNA extraction methods from wastewater showed that SARS-CoV-2 was detected more frequently on filter samples versus the direct extracts. Aligning our wastewater data with the reported SARS-CoV-2 cases on the campus Covid-19 dashboard showed the virus signal was routinely detected in the wastewater prior to clusters of individual cases being reported. These data support the testing of wastewater for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and may be used as part of a surveillance program for detecting the virus in a community prior to an outbreak occurring and could ultimately be incorporated with other SARS-CoV-2 metrics to better inform public health enabling a quick response to contain or mitigating spread of the virus.
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