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

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dc.contributor.authorJobling, Kelly
dc.contributor.authorQuintela-Baluja, Marcos
dc.contributor.authorHassard, Francis
dc.contributor.authorAdamou, Panagiota
dc.contributor.authorBlackburn, Adrian
dc.contributor.authorTerm Research Team
dc.contributor.authorMcIntyre-Nolan, Shannon
dc.contributor.authorO'Mara, Oscar
dc.contributor.authorRomalde, Jesus L.
dc.contributor.authorDi Cesare, Mariachiara
dc.contributor.authorGraham, David W.
dc.date.accessioned2024-01-18T13:15:53Z
dc.date.available2024-01-18T13:15:53Z
dc.date.issued2023-12-02
dc.description.abstractPrisons 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.en_UK
dc.description.sponsorshipEPSRC Impact Acceleration Award (EP/R511584/1) and a UK NERC award (NE/V004883/1)en_UK
dc.identifier.citationJobling K, Quintela-Baluja M, Hassard F, et al., (2024) Comparison of gene targets and sampling regimes for SARS-CoV-2 quantification for wastewater epidemiology in UK prisons. Journal of Water and Health, Volume 22, Issue 1, January 2024, pp. 64-76en_UK
dc.identifier.eissn1996-7829
dc.identifier.issn1477-8920
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2023.093
dc.identifier.urihttps://dspace.lib.cranfield.ac.uk/handle/1826/20682
dc.language.isoenen_UK
dc.publisherIWA Publishingen_UK
dc.rightsAttribution 4.0 International*
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/*
dc.subjectCOVID-19en_UK
dc.subjecthealth monitoringen_UK
dc.subjectprisonsen_UK
dc.subjectRT-qPCRen_UK
dc.subjectSARS-CoV-2en_UK
dc.subjectwastewater-based epidemiologyen_UK
dc.titleComparison of gene targets and sampling regimes for SARS-CoV-2 quantification for wastewater epidemiology in UK prisonsen_UK
dc.typeArticleen_UK
dcterms.dateAccepted2023-11-26
dcterms.dateAccepted

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