The Catalan Surveillance Network of SARS-CoV-2 in Sewage: design, implementation, and performance

• Published in: Scientific reports 2022-10, Vol.12 (1), p.16704-10, Article 16704
• Main Authors: Guerrero-Latorre, Laura, Collado, Neus, Abasolo, Nerea, Anzaldi, Gabriel, Bofill-Mas, Sílvia, Bosch, Albert, Bosch, Lluís, Busquets, Sílvia, Caimari, Antoni, Canela, Núria, Carcereny, Albert, Chacón, Carme, Ciruela, Pilar, Corbella, Irene, Domingo, Xavier, Escoté, Xavier, Espiñeira, Yaimara, Forés, Eva, Gandullo-Sarró, Isabel, Garcia-Pedemonte, David, Girones, Rosina, Guix, Susana, Hundesa, Ayalkibet, Itarte, Marta, Mariné-Casadó, Roger, Martínez, Anna, Martínez-Puchol, Sandra, Mas-Capdevila, Anna, Mejías-Molina, Cristina, Rafa, Marc Moliner i, Munné, Antoni, Pintó, Rosa Maria, Pueyo-Ros, Josep, Robusté-Cartró, Jordi, Rusiñol, Marta, Sanfeliu, Robert, Teichenné, Joan, Torrell, Helena, Corominas, Lluís, Borrego, Carles M.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: 631/326; 631/326/171; 631/326/596; 704/172; COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Decision making; Design; Epidemiology; Humanities and Social Sciences; Humans; multidisciplinary; Pandemics; RNA, Viral; SARS-CoV-2; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2; Sewage; Wastewater; Wastewater treatment; Wastewater treatment plants; Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-20957-3

Wastewater-based epidemiology has shown to be an efficient tool to track the circulation of SARS-CoV-2 in communities assisted by wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). The challenge comes when this approach is employed to help Health authorities in their decision-making. Here, we describe the roadmap for the design and deployment of SARSAIGUA, the Catalan Surveillance Network of SARS-CoV-2 in Sewage. The network monitors, weekly or biweekly, 56 WWTPs evenly distributed across the territory and serving 6 M inhabitants (80% of the Catalan population). Each week, samples from 45 WWTPs are collected, analyzed, results reported to Health authorities, and finally published within less than 72 h in an online dashboard ( https://sarsaigua.icra.cat ). After 20 months of monitoring (July 20–March 22), the standardized viral load (gene copies/day) in all the WWTPs monitored fairly matched the cumulative number of COVID-19 cases along the successive pandemic waves, showing a good fit with the diagnosed cases in the served municipalities (Spearman Rho = 0.69). Here we describe the roadmap of the design and deployment of SARSAIGUA while providing several open-access tools for the management and visualization of the surveillance data.