Journal article
Using QMRA to understand possible exposure risks of SARS-CoV-2 from the water environment
Environmental science and pollution research international, v 29(5), pp 7240-7253
01 Sep 2021
PMID: 34467495
Featured in Collection : UN Sustainable Development Goals @ Drexel
Abstract
This study investigated the human risk of infection due to inadvertent ingestion of water during swimming in a river that receives SARS-CoV-2-containing effluent from a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). A quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA) approach was applied for risk estimation using dose-response models (DRM) of different surrogate coronaviruses (SARS-CoV-1, MERS-CoV) and the virus responsible for most infectious respiratory illnesses (i.e., influenza A H5N1) due to the unavailability of DRM for SARS-CoV-2. The ratio of infectious concentration to genomic copies of SARS-CoV-2 is unknown and also unavailable for other coronaviruses. Therefore, literature-based information on enteric viruses was used for formulating the ratio used for QMRA, although it is acknowledged that identifying this information for SARS-CoV-2 is a priority, and in the absence of information specific to SARS-CoV-2, another coronavirus would be a preferable surrogate to the enteric viruses used here. The calculated concentration of ingested SARS-CoV-2 ranged between 4.6 x 10(-7) and 80.5 genomic copies/dip (one swim = 32 mL). The risk of infection (> 9 x 10(-12) to 5.8 x 10(-1)) was found to be > 1/10,000 annual risk of infection. Moreover, the study revealed that the risk estimation was largely dependent on the value of the molecular concentration of SARS-CoV-2 (gc/mL). Overall immediate attention is required for obtaining information on the (i) ratio of infectious virus to genomic copies, (ii) DRM for SARS-CoV-2, and (iii) virus reduction rate after treatment in the WWTPs. The QMRA structure used in present findings is helpful in analyzing and prioritizing upcoming health risks due to swimming performed in contaminated rivers during the COVID-19 outbreak.
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Details
- Title
- Using QMRA to understand possible exposure risks of SARS-CoV-2 from the water environment
- Creators
- Neha Tyagi - Indian Institute of Technology DelhiPatrick L. Gurian - Drexel UniversityArun Kumar - Indian Institute of Technology Delhi
- Publication Details
- Environmental science and pollution research international, v 29(5), pp 7240-7253
- Publisher
- Springer Nature
- Number of pages
- 14
- Grant note
- Drexel University, USA Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Delhi
- Resource Type
- Journal article
- Language
- English
- Academic Unit
- Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering
- Web of Science ID
- WOS:000691662300001
- Scopus ID
- 2-s2.0-85113943215
- Other Identifier
- 991019167896204721
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web of Science research areas
- Environmental Sciences