International collaborative research groups such as Hokkaido University and Yamanashi University have systematically organized the findings obtained so far in relation to the actual state of existence of the new coronavirus in sewage, and have organized the new coronavirus infection (COVID-19). ) Was published for the first time in the world as a review paper advocating the usefulness of sewage epidemiological research in grasping the epidemiological situation.
The pandemic of the new coronavirus infection has become an international public health emergency.The main transmission routes are human-to-human droplet and contact transmission, but the latest research reports show that viral RNA can be present in sewage, making sewage a source of information on viral infection epidemiology. There is sex.
The research group has obtained knowledge on the possibility that the outbreak status of COVID-19 can be grasped by the sewage epidemiological survey, the detection method of the new coronavirus in sewage, and the information related to the health risk assessment of the virus. Scrutinized.The number of cases in which RNA of the new coronavirus is detected not only in the feces of infected persons but also in sewage is increasing rapidly, but the establishment of an efficient detection method from sewage samples has become a major issue.In addition, although the data used to evaluate the virus exposure route and infection risk are limited, risk assessment and modeling will be possible by utilizing previous research data on related respiratory viruses, and COVID-19 infection control will be possible. It can contribute.
At this time, the involvement of sewage in the transmission of the new coronavirus is unknown due to lack of knowledge about the presence, survival and removal effect of the new coronavirus in sewage.Further research is urgently needed to establish a method for sewage epidemiological investigation, elucidate the existence of the new coronavirus in sewage, and utilize the data.
Paper information:[Science of the Total Environment] SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater: State of the knowledge and research needs