Wastewater monitoring has now been incorporated as part of early detection and surveillance system for the emerging COVID-19. The method merely provides dichotomous results whether there is someone has been infected. The results of an US study performed air sampling on Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning (HVAC) system suggested this technique as a possible, practical source of additional information on the brief location of infected subjects. It carried out in 2 large university dormitories and 1 separate isolation suite containing positive students for 3.5 months, 4 methods for sample collection had been employed: Filter Cassettes, Button Sampler, BioSampler, and AerosolSense sampler; air samples subsequently went through qRT-PCR testing. All methods employed detected SARS-CoV-2 RNA except the first one Filter Cassettes. It successfully detected the RNA in the air samples 6 times in advance on the same floor of the sampling location where 8 students were tested positive later in scheduled testing, and yielded a detection rate of 75%. HVAC air sampling technique may benefit the existing COVID-19 surveillance system through the provision of supplementary information that better informs timely, effective containment measures or even leads to revision on current quarantine protocols.

References

1. Sousan S, et al. Am J Infect Control. Oct 2021.