Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza in preK-12 schools shows school, community, and citywide infections

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dc.citation.articleNumber119648
dc.citation.journalTitleWater Research
dc.citation.volumeNumber231
dc.contributor.authorWolken, Madeline
dc.contributor.authorSun, Thomas
dc.contributor.authorMcCall, Camille
dc.contributor.authorSchneider, Rebecca
dc.contributor.authorCaton, Kelsey
dc.contributor.authorHundley, Courtney
dc.contributor.authorHopkins, Loren
dc.contributor.authorEnsor, Katherine
dc.contributor.authorDomakonda, Kaavya
dc.contributor.authorPrashant, Kalvapalle
dc.contributor.authorPersse, David
dc.contributor.authorWilliams, Stephen
dc.contributor.authorStadler, Lauren B.
dc.date.accessioned2023-02-16T20:32:55Z
dc.date.available2023-02-16T20:32:55Z
dc.date.issued2023
dc.description.abstractWastewater surveillance is a passive and efficient way to monitor the spread of infectious diseases in large populations and high transmission areas such as preK-12 schools. Infections caused by respiratory viruses in school-aged children are likely underreported, particularly because many children may be asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic. Wastewater monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 has been studied extensively and primarily by sampling at centralized wastewater treatment plants, and there are limited studies on SARS-CoV-2 in preK-12 school wastewater. Similarly, wastewater detections of influenza have only been reported in wastewater treatment plant and university manhole samples. Here, we present the results of a 17-month wastewater monitoring program for SARS-CoV-2 (n = 2176 samples) and influenza A and B (n = 1217 samples) in 51 preK-12 schools. We show that school wastewater concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 RNA were strongly associated with COVID-19 cases in schools and community positivity rates, and that influenza detections in school wastewater were significantly associated with citywide influenza diagnosis rates. Results were communicated back to schools and local communities to enable mitigation strategies to stop the spread, and direct resources such as testing and vaccination clinics. This study demonstrates that school wastewater surveillance is reflective of local infections at several population levels and plays a crucial role in the detection and mitigation of outbreaks.
dc.identifier.citationWolken, Madeline, Sun, Thomas, McCall, Camille, et al.. "Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza in preK-12 schools shows school, community, and citywide infections." <i>Water Research,</i> 231, (2023) Elsevier: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2023.119648.
dc.identifier.doihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2023.119648
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/114459
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisherElsevier
dc.rightsThis is an author's post-print. The published article is copyrighted by Elsevier.
dc.rightsThis work is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.titleWastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 and influenza in preK-12 schools shows school, community, and citywide infections
dc.typeJournal article
dc.type.dcmiText
dc.type.publicationpost-print
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