Evidence map›Paper›PMID 38709720›Full record

ArticlePloS one2024

Detection of thermotolerant coliforms and SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage and recreational waters in the Ecuadorian coast: A call for improving water quality regulation.

Maritza Cárdenas-Calle, Leandro Patiño, Beatriz Pernia, Roberto Erazo, Carlos Muñoz, Magaly Valencia-Avellan, Mariana Lozada, Mary Regato-Arrata, Miguel Barrera, Segundo Aquino and 12 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

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.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

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.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

22 authors.

Maritza Cárdenas-CalleInterinstitutional Network for the Study of Aquatic Ecosystems of Ecuador, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.ORCID 0000-0001-5237-9137
Leandro PatiñoInterinstitutional Network for the Study of Aquatic Ecosystems of Ecuador, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Beatriz PerniaInterinstitutional Network for the Study of Aquatic Ecosystems of Ecuador, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Roberto ErazoInterinstitutional Network for the Study of Aquatic Ecosystems of Ecuador, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Carlos MuñozFaculty of Chemical Engineering, University of Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Magaly Valencia-AvellanInterinstitutional Network for the Study of Aquatic Ecosystems of Ecuador, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.ORCID 0000-0003-0162-0212
Mariana LozadaFundación Bioelit, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Mary Regato-ArrataNational Institute for Public Health Research-INSPI- Dr. Leopoldo Izquieta Pérez, National Reference Center for Exanthematous, Gastroenteric and Vector-borne Viruses, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Miguel BarreraAmbiente Sociedad & Empresa Research Group, University of Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Segundo AquinoFaculty of Chemical Engineering, University of Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Stefania FuentesAmbiente Sociedad & Empresa Research Group, University of Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Javier DuqueInterinstitutional Network for the Study of Aquatic Ecosystems of Ecuador, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Luis Velázquez-AraqueAmbiente Sociedad & Empresa Research Group, University of Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.ORCID 0000-0001-7890-012X
Bertha CarpioDirección del Medio Ambiente, Gobierno Provincial de Santa Elena, Santa Elena, Ecuador.
Carlos Méndez-RomanÁrea Nacional de Recreación Playas Villamil, Ministerio de Ambiente Agua y Transición Ecológica, Playas, Ecuador.
Carlos CalleAmbiente Sociedad & Empresa Research Group, University of Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Guillermo CárdenasAmbiente Sociedad & Empresa Research Group, University of Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
David Guizado-HerreraFaculty of Chemical Engineering, University of Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.ORCID 0000-0002-5948-9889
Clara Lucía TelloFundación Bioelit, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Verónica Bravo-BasantesLabcestta, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.
Jhannelle FrancisDepartment of Microbiology, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
Miguel UyaguariAmbiente Sociedad & Empresa Research Group, University of Guayaquil, Guayaquil, Guayas, Ecuador.ORCID 0000-0003-2719-5111

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Wastewater surveillance represents an alternative approach to regulating contamination and the early detection of infectious agents and outbreaks of diseases of public health importance. This study evaluated domestic wastewater effects on recreational waters in estuarine and seawater bodies in Guayas and Santa Elena provinces in Ecuador, South America. Fecal indicator bacteria (thermotolerant coliforms) served as key indicators for evaluation. Physical, chemical, and microbiological quality markers following the Ecuadorian environmental quality standard and the discharge of effluents to the water resource were analyzed. Samples were collected from 44 coastal sites and 2 oxidation lagoons during the dry and rainy seasons of 2020 and 2021, respectively. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in samples with higher E. coli concentrations using reverse transcription quantitative PCR to detect the genes N and ORF1ab. All samples analyzed for SARS-CoV-2 showed Ct ˂ 40 for at least one gene. Four samples showed at least 20 genome copies of gene N per reaction. These were at an artisanal fishing port, an estuarine area (Palmar), a recreational bay, and an oxidation lagoon. A moderate correlation was found between SARS-CoV-2 RNA, thermotolerant coliform and E. coli (p-value ≤ 0.0037), and a strong and positive correlation between thermotolerant coliform and E. coli. (p-value ≤ 0.00001), highlighting the utility of these established parameters as a proxy of the virus. Significant differences were found in the concentrations of thermotolerant coliforms between seasons (p-value = 0.016) and sites (p-value = 0.005). The highest levels of coliforms were found in the dry season (63000 MPN/100 mL) in Anconcito and during the rainy season (14000 MPN/100 mL) at Esterillo in Playas County. It is recommended that the decentralized autonomous governments of the surveyed provinces in Ecuador implement urgent corrective actions and establish medium-term mechanisms to minimize a potential contamination route. Additional parameters must be included in the monitoring, such as Enterococcus and intestinal parasites, due to their public health implications. In the oxidation lagoons, maintenance actions must be carried out, including the dissolution of sediments, an increase in water retention times, and in situ treatment of the sludge, to improve the system's performance.

Indexed as

COVID-19RNA, ViralSARS-CoV-2SewageWater QualityEcuadorEnterobacteriaceaeEnvironmental MonitoringEscherichia coliHumansSeawaterWastewaterWater MicrobiologyRNA, ViralSewageWastewater

Identifiers

PMID38709720
PMCPMC11073733

What OpenQuestion holds

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.