Use of wastewater from passenger ships to assess the movement of COVID-19 and other pathogenic viruses across maritime international boundaries

Jones, Davey L., Bridgman, Mathew, Pellett, Cameron, Weightman, Andrew J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6671-2209, Kille, Peter ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6023-5221, García Delgado, Álvaro, Cross, Gareth, Cobley, Steve, Howard-Jones, Helen, Chadwick, David R. and Farkas, Kata 2024. Use of wastewater from passenger ships to assess the movement of COVID-19 and other pathogenic viruses across maritime international boundaries. Frontiers in Public Health 12 , 1377996. 10.3389/fpubh.2024.1377996

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Abstract

Objective:: The worldwide spread of SARS-CoV-2 and the resulting COVID-19 pandemic has been driven by international travel. This has led to the desire to develop surveillance approaches which can estimate the rate of import of pathogenic organisms across international borders. The aim of this study was to investigate the use of wastewater-based approaches for the surveillance of viral pathogens on commercial short-haul (3.5 h transit time) roll-on/roll-off passenger/freight ferries operating between the UK and the Republic of Ireland. Methods: Samples of toilet-derived wastewater (blackwater) were collected from two commercial ships over a 4-week period and analysed for SARS-CoV-2, influenza, enterovirus, norovirus, the faecal-marker virus crAssphage and a range of physical and chemical indicators of wastewater quality. Results: A small proportion of the wastewater samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 (8% of the total), consistent with theoretical predictions of detection frequency (4%–15% of the total) based on the national COVID-19 Infection Survey and defecation behaviour. In addition, norovirus was detected in wastewater at low frequency. No influenza A/B viruses, enterovirus or enterovirus D68 were detected throughout the study period. Conclusion: We conclude that testing of wastewater from ships that cross international maritime boundaries may provide a cost-effective and relatively unbiased method to estimate the flow of infected individuals between countries. The approach is also readily applicable for the surveillance of other disease-causing agents.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Published Online
Status:	Published
Schools:	Biosciences
Additional Information:	License information from Publisher: LICENSE 1: URL: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Publisher:	Frontiers Media
ISSN:	2296-2565
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	30 July 2024
Date of Acceptance:	20 June 2024
Last Modified:	30 Jul 2024 13:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/171000

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