Monitoring Emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 B.1.1.7 Variant through the Spanish National SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Surveillance System (VATar COVID-19)

Albert Carcereny, Adán Martínez-Velázquez, Albert Bosch, Ana Allende, Pilar Truchado, Jenifer Cascales, Jesús L. Romalde, Marta Lois, David Polo, Gloria Sánchez, Alba Pérez-Cataluña, Azahara Díaz-Reolid, Andrés Antón, Josep Gregori, Damir Garcia-Cehic, Josep Quer, Margarita Palau, Cristina González Ruano, Rosa M. Pintó*, Susana Guix*

*Autor correspondiente de este trabajo

Producción científica: Contribución a una revistaArtículoInvestigaciónrevisión exhaustiva

40 Citas (Scopus)

Resumen

Since its first identification in the United Kingdom in late 2020, the highly transmissible B.1.1.7 variant of SARS-CoV-2 has become dominant in several countries raising great concern. We developed a duplex real-time RT-qPCR assay to detect, discriminate, and quantitate SARS-CoV-2 variants containing one of its mutation signatures, the ΔHV69/70 deletion, and used it to trace the community circulation of the B.1.1.7 variant in Spain through the Spanish National SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Surveillance System (VATar COVID-19). The B.1.1.7 variant was detected earlier than clinical epidemiological reporting by the local authorities, first in the southern city of Málaga (Andalucía) in week 20_52 (year_week), and multiple introductions during Christmas holidays were inferred in different parts of the country. Wastewater-based B.1.1.7 tracking showed a good correlation with clinical data and provided information at the local level. Data from wastewater treatment plants, which reached B.1.1.7 prevalences higher than 90% for ≥2 consecutive weeks showed that 8.1 ± 2.0 weeks were required for B.1.1.7 to become dominant. The study highlights the applicability of RT-qPCR-based strategies to track specific mutations of variants of concern as soon as they are identified by clinical sequencing and their integration into existing wastewater surveillance programs, as a cost-effective approach to complement clinical testing during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Idioma originalInglés
Páginas (desde-hasta)11756-11766
Número de páginas11
PublicaciónEnvironmental Science and Technology
Volumen55
N.º17
DOI
EstadoPublicada - 7 sept 2021

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