TY - JOUR
T1 - 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)
AU - Carcereny, Albert
AU - Martínez-Velázquez, Adán
AU - Bosch, Albert
AU - Allende, Ana
AU - Truchado, Pilar
AU - Cascales, Jenifer
AU - Romalde, Jesús L.
AU - Lois, Marta
AU - Polo, David
AU - Sánchez, Gloria
AU - Pérez-Cataluña, Alba
AU - Díaz-Reolid, Azahara
AU - Antón, Andrés
AU - Gregori, Josep
AU - Garcia-Cehic, Damir
AU - Quer, Josep
AU - Palau, Margarita
AU - Ruano, Cristina González
AU - Pintó, Rosa M.
AU - Guix, Susana
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 American Chemical Society
PY - 2021/9/7
Y1 - 2021/9/7
N2 - 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.
AB - 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.
KW - B.1.1.7 variant
KW - COVID-19
KW - NGS
KW - RT-qPCR
KW - SARS-CoV-2
KW - wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE)
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85114094084&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1021/acs.est.1c03589
DO - 10.1021/acs.est.1c03589
M3 - Article
C2 - 34397216
AN - SCOPUS:85114094084
SN - 0013-936X
VL - 55
SP - 11756
EP - 11766
JO - Environmental Science and Technology
JF - Environmental Science and Technology
IS - 17
ER -