The detection and stability of the SARS-CoV-2 RNA biomarkers in wastewater influent in Helsinki, Finland

  1. Anna-Maria Hokajärvi
  2. Annastiina Rytkönen
  3. Ananda Tiwari
  4. Ari Kauppinen
  5. Sami Oikarinen
  6. Kirsi-Maarit Lehto
  7. Aino Kankaanpää
  8. Teemu Gunnar
  9. Haider Al-Hello
  10. Soile Blomqvist
  11. Ilkka T. Miettinen
  12. Carita Savolainen-Kopra
  13. Tarja Pitkänen

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Abstract

No abstract available

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  1. Version published to 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.145274
  2. Version published to 10.1101/2020.11.18.20234039v2 on medRxiv
  3. ScreenIT

    SciScore for 10.1101/2020.11.18.20234039: (What is this?)

    Please note, not all rigor criteria are appropriate for all manuscripts.

    Table 1: Rigor

    Institutional Review Board Statementnot detected.
    Randomizationnot detected.
    Blindingnot detected.
    Power Analysisnot detected.
    Sex as a biological variablenot detected.

    Table 2: Resources

    Software and Algorithms
    SentencesResources
    The sequences were verified and aligned using Geneious 11.1.3 (Biomatters Ltd, New Zealand).
    Geneious
    suggested: (Geneious, RRID:SCR_010519)
    The consensus sequence was identified using BLAST analysis (https://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi).
    BLAST
    suggested: (BLASTX, RRID:SCR_001653)
    https://blast.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Blast.cgi
    suggested: (TBLASTX, RRID:SCR_011823)
    In the GInaFiT tool, the regression analysis was performed (log10(Nt) vs. time) for each viral target including the prediction of times needed for 90% and 99% reduction at the storage temperatures in the wastewater influent, as previously described by Casanova et al. (2009).
    GInaFiT
    suggested: None
    Statistical analysis was done using IBM SPSS statistics.
    SPSS
    suggested: (SPSS, RRID:SCR_002865)

    Results from OddPub: We did not detect open data. We also did not detect open code. Researchers are encouraged to share open data when possible (see Nature blog).

    Results from LimitationRecognizer: We detected the following sentences addressing limitations in the study:
    A limitation of the study set-up was that we were not able to follow SARS-CoV-2 copy numbers during the first 28 days of storage using the real wastewater samples. Instead, we conducted a separate spike-in study to reveal the decay characteristics between 0 and 28 days. The conventional route of transmission of SARS betacoronaviruses is via respiratory droplets passing through the nasopharynx. A nasopharyngeal swab sample was used herein in order to gain high enough quantities of SARS-CoV-2 for the spike-in experiment. However, the survival kinetics of SARS-CoV-2 after passage through the gastrointestinal tract and, furthermore, after the transport of the viral particles—first in the sewerage system to the WWTP and then in a sample container to the laboratory—might be different than those of a highly contagious nasopharyngeal sample. While the finding of viral RNA in stools or wastewater does not imply that the virus is viable and infectious (Foladori et al., 2020), the two experiments carried out herein (the analysis of actual wastewater samples after storage and the spike-in study) both indicated the stability of the RNA signal during storage in freezing temperatures. Therefore, this study has assumed the decay characteristics of the RNA from fresh virus particles from COVID-19 patient may not differ from virus RNA from wastewater samples. The wastewater system represents virus particles that have ended up there from the fecal materials, urine, coughing, sneezing, and sputu...

    Results from TrialIdentifier: No clinical trial numbers were referenced.

    Results from Barzooka: We did not find any issues relating to the usage of bar graphs.

    Results from JetFighter: We did not find any issues relating to colormaps.

    Results from rtransparent:
    • Thank you for including a conflict of interest statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • Thank you for including a funding statement. Authors are encouraged to include this statement when submitting to a journal.
    • No protocol registration statement was detected.

    About SciScore

    SciScore is an automated tool that is designed to assist expert reviewers by finding and presenting formulaic information scattered throughout a paper in a standard, easy to digest format. SciScore checks for the presence and correctness of RRIDs (research resource identifiers), and for rigor criteria such as sex and investigator blinding. For details on the theoretical underpinning of rigor criteria and the tools shown here, including references cited, please follow this link.

  4. Version published to 10.1101/2020.11.18.20234039v1 on medRxiv