Performance evaluation of virus concentration methods for implementing SARS-CoV-2 wastewater based epidemiology...

Area of Science:

• Environmental science
• Virology
• Public health

Background:

• Wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) is a vital tool for community-level disease surveillance.
• Accurate SARS-CoV-2 detection in wastewater relies on efficient sample concentration, especially for low viral loads.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of the InnovaPrep Concentrating Pipette (CP) Select for SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater.
• To compare the CP Select method with the established electronegative membrane filtration (EMF) method.

Main Methods:

• Compared SARS-CoV-2 quantification sensitivity, surrogate virus recovery rates, and sample processing times between CP Select and EMF methods.
• Optimized the CP Select protocol using AVL lysis buffer and sonication.

Main Results:

• CP Select demonstrated higher efficiency in concentrating SARS-CoV-2 compared to EMF.
• Approximately 25% more samples tested positive using CP Select.
• Sonication increased Bovine Coronavirus recovery by 19%, and filtration time decreased by 30%.

Conclusions:

• The CP Select ultrafiltration method is a more sensitive and rapid technique for SARS-CoV-2 detection in wastewater.
• This method is particularly advantageous for building surveillance applications requiring quick results.