Monitoring the Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in Wastewater and Clinical Samples—A One-Year Study in Santiago de Compostela (Spain)
Wastewater surveillance has become a valuable tool to monitor the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) at the community level. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the presence of Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Delta (B.1617.2), and Omicron (B.1.1.529) VOCs in samples from the inlet o...
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2025-03-01
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| author | Marta Lois David Polo María Luisa Pérez del Molino Amparo Coira Antonio Aguilera Jesús L. Romalde |
| author_facet | Marta Lois David Polo María Luisa Pérez del Molino Amparo Coira Antonio Aguilera Jesús L. Romalde |
| author_sort | Marta Lois |
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| description | Wastewater surveillance has become a valuable tool to monitor the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) at the community level. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the presence of Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Delta (B.1617.2), and Omicron (B.1.1.529) VOCs in samples from the inlet of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) as well as from two different sewer interceptors (SI-1 and SI-2) from the urban sewage system in Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, NW of Spain) throughout 2021 and January 2022. For this purpose, detection and quantification of the four VOCs was performed using four duplex SARS-CoV-2 allelic discrimination RT-qPCR assays, targeting the S-gene. An N1 RT-qPCR gene assay was used as a reference for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater samples. All VOCs were detected in wastewater samples. Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron VOCs were detected in 45.7%, 7.5%, 66.7%, and 72.7% of all samples, respectively. Alpha VOC was dominant during the first part of the study, whereas Delta and Omicron detection peaks were observed in May–June and December 2021, respectively. Some differences were observed among the results obtained for the two city sectors studied, which could be explained by the differences in the characteristics of the population between them. Wastewater-based epidemiology allowed us to track the early circulation and emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants at a local level, and our results are temporally concordant with clinical data and epidemiological findings reported by the health authorities. |
| format | Article |
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| issn | 1999-4915 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
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| series | Viruses |
| spelling | doaj-art-1e974ec844b549e7a1a77e2aa0ba0ff32025-08-20T02:18:01ZengMDPI AGViruses1999-49152025-03-0117448910.3390/v17040489Monitoring the Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in Wastewater and Clinical Samples—A One-Year Study in Santiago de Compostela (Spain)Marta Lois0David Polo1María Luisa Pérez del Molino2Amparo Coira3Antonio Aguilera4Jesús L. Romalde5CRETUS, Departament de Microbiología y Parasitología, CIBUS-Faculty de Biología, University de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, SpainCRETUS, Departament de Microbiología y Parasitología, CIBUS-Faculty de Biología, University de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, SpainServicio de Microbiología, Hospital Clínico University de Santiago, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, SpainServicio de Microbiología, Hospital Clínico University de Santiago, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, SpainServicio de Microbiología, Hospital Clínico University de Santiago, 15706 Santiago de Compostela, SpainCRETUS, Departament de Microbiología y Parasitología, CIBUS-Faculty de Biología, University de Santiago de Compostela, 15782 Santiago de Compostela, SpainWastewater surveillance has become a valuable tool to monitor the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants of concern (VOCs) at the community level. In this study, we aimed to evaluate the presence of Alpha (B.1.1.7), Beta (B.1.351), Delta (B.1617.2), and Omicron (B.1.1.529) VOCs in samples from the inlet of a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) as well as from two different sewer interceptors (SI-1 and SI-2) from the urban sewage system in Santiago de Compostela (Galicia, NW of Spain) throughout 2021 and January 2022. For this purpose, detection and quantification of the four VOCs was performed using four duplex SARS-CoV-2 allelic discrimination RT-qPCR assays, targeting the S-gene. An N1 RT-qPCR gene assay was used as a reference for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater samples. All VOCs were detected in wastewater samples. Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron VOCs were detected in 45.7%, 7.5%, 66.7%, and 72.7% of all samples, respectively. Alpha VOC was dominant during the first part of the study, whereas Delta and Omicron detection peaks were observed in May–June and December 2021, respectively. Some differences were observed among the results obtained for the two city sectors studied, which could be explained by the differences in the characteristics of the population between them. Wastewater-based epidemiology allowed us to track the early circulation and emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants at a local level, and our results are temporally concordant with clinical data and epidemiological findings reported by the health authorities.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/4/489wastewater-based epidemiologyCOVID-19SARS-CoV-2VOCsduplex RT-qPCR |
| spellingShingle | Marta Lois David Polo María Luisa Pérez del Molino Amparo Coira Antonio Aguilera Jesús L. Romalde Monitoring the Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in Wastewater and Clinical Samples—A One-Year Study in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) Viruses wastewater-based epidemiology COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 VOCs duplex RT-qPCR |
| title | Monitoring the Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in Wastewater and Clinical Samples—A One-Year Study in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) |
| title_full | Monitoring the Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in Wastewater and Clinical Samples—A One-Year Study in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) |
| title_fullStr | Monitoring the Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in Wastewater and Clinical Samples—A One-Year Study in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Monitoring the Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in Wastewater and Clinical Samples—A One-Year Study in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) |
| title_short | Monitoring the Emergence of SARS-CoV-2 VOCs in Wastewater and Clinical Samples—A One-Year Study in Santiago de Compostela (Spain) |
| title_sort | monitoring the emergence of sars cov 2 vocs in wastewater and clinical samples a one year study in santiago de compostela spain |
| topic | wastewater-based epidemiology COVID-19 SARS-CoV-2 VOCs duplex RT-qPCR |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/1999-4915/17/4/489 |
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