Imperial College London
Alternate

Professor Guy Woodward - Deputy Head of Department

Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Life Sciences (Silwood Park)

Professor of Ecology
 
 
 
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Contact

 

guy.woodward

 
 
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Location

 

MunroSilwood Park

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Summary

 

Publications

Citation

BibTex format

@article{Ransome:2023:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159161,
author = {Ransome, E and Hobbs, F and Jones, S and Coleman, CM and Harris, ND and Woodward, G and Bell, T and Trew, J and Kolarevi, S and Kraun-Kolarevi, M and Savolainen, V},
doi = {10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159161},
journal = {Science of the Total Environment},
pages = {1--8},
title = {Evaluating the transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 from sewage pollution},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159161},
volume = {858},
year = {2023}
}
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RIS format (EndNote, RefMan)

TY  - JOUR
AB  - The presence of SARS-CoV-2 in untreated sewage has been confirmed in many countries but its incidence and infection risk in contaminated waters is poorly understood. The River Thames in the UK receives untreated sewage from 57 Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), with many discharging dozens of times per year. This study investigated if such discharges provide a pathway for environmental transmission of SARS-CoV-2. Samples of wastewater, surface water, and sediment collected close to six CSOs on the River Thames were assayed over eight months for SARS-CoV-2 RNA and infectious virus. Bivalves were also sampled as an indicator species of viral bioaccumulation. Sediment and water samples from the Danube and Sava rivers in Serbia, where raw sewage is also discharged in high volumes, were assayed as a positive control. No evidence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA or infectious virus was found in UK samples, in contrast to RNA positive samples from Serbia. Furthermore, this study shows that infectious SARS-CoV-2 inoculum is stable in Thames water and sediment for <3days, while SARS-CoV-2 RNA is detectable for at least seven days. This indicates that dilution of wastewater likely limits environmental transmission, and that detection of viral RNA alone is not an indication of pathogen spillover.
AU  - Ransome,E
AU  - Hobbs,F
AU  - Jones,S
AU  - Coleman,CM
AU  - Harris,ND
AU  - Woodward,G
AU  - Bell,T
AU  - Trew,J
AU  - Kolarevi,S
AU  - Kraun-Kolarevi,M
AU  - Savolainen,V
DO  - 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159161
EP  - 8
PY  - 2023///
SN  - 0048-9697
SP  - 1
TI  - Evaluating the transmission risk of SARS-CoV-2 from sewage pollution
T2  - Science of the Total Environment
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.159161
UR  - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36191696
UR  - https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004896972206260X?via%3Dihub
UR  - http://hdl.handle.net/10044/1/100142
VL  - 858
ER  -
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