Browsing by Author "Singer, Andrew C."

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    Establishment of local wastewater-based surveillance programmes in response to the spread and infection of COVID-19 – case studies from South Africa, the Netherlands, Turkey and England
    (IWA, 2022-02-07) Tlhagale, M.; Liphadzi, S.; Bhagwan, J.; Naidoo, V.; Jonas, K.; van Vuuren, L.; Medema, Gertjan; Andrews, L.; Béen, F.; Lousada-Ferreira, Maria; Saatci, Ahmet Mete; Alpaslan Kocamemi, B.; Hassard, Francis; Singer, Andrew C.; Bunce, J. T.; Grimsley, J. M. S.; Brown, M.; Jones, Davey L.
    The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in over 340 million infection cases (as of 21 January 2022) and more than 5.57 million deaths globally. In reaction, science, technology and innovation communities across the globe have organised themselves to contribute to national responses to COVID-19 disease. A significant contribution has been from the establishment of wastewater-based epidemiological (WBE) surveillance interventions and programmes for monitoring the spread of COVID-19 in at least 55 countries. Here, we examine and share experiences and lessons learnt in establishing such surveillance programmes. We use case studies to highlight testing methods and logistics considerations associated in scaling the implementing of such programmes in South Africa, the Netherlands, Turkey and England. The four countries were selected to represent different regions of the world and the perspective based on the considerable progress made in establishing and implementing their national WBE programmes. The selected countries also represent different climatic zones, economies, and development stages, which influence the implementation of national programmes of this nature and magnitude. In addition, the four countries' programmes offer good experiences and lessons learnt since they are systematic, and cover extensive areas, disseminate knowledge locally and internationally and partnered with authorities (government). The programmes also strengthened working relations and partnerships between and among local and global organisations. This paper shares these experiences and lessons to encourage others in the water and public health sectors on the benefits and value of WBE in tackling SARS-CoV-2 and related future circumstances.
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    Innovation in wastewater near-source tracking for rapid identification of COVID-19 in schools [Comment]
    (Elsevier, 2020-10-30) Hassard, Francis; Lundy, Lian; Singer, Andrew C.; Grimsley, Jasmine; Di Cesare, Mariachiara
    Comment Article
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    Meeting report: risk assessment of tamiflu use under pandemic conditions
    (Nat Inst of Environ Health Sciences / The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS), 2008-11-30T00:00:00Z) Singer, Andrew C.; Howard, Bruce M.; Johnson, Andrew C.; Knowles, Chris J.; Jackman, Simon; Accinelli, Cesare; Caracciolo, Anna Barra; Bernard, Ian; Bird, Stephen; Boucard, Tatiana; Boxall, Alistair; Brian, Jayne V.; Cartmell, Elise; Chubb, Chris; Churchley, J.; Costigan, Sandra; Crane, Mark; Dempsey, Michael J.; Dorrington, Bob; Ellor, Brian; Fick, Jerker; Holmes, John; Hutchinson, Tom; Karcher, Franz; Kelleher, Samuel L.; Marsden, Peter; Noone, Gerald; Nunn, Miles A.; Oxford, John; Rachwal, Tony; Roberts, Noel; Roberts, Mike; Sacca, Maria Ludovica; Sanders, Matthew; Straub, Jürg Oliver; Terry, Adrian; Thomas, Dean; Toovey, Stephen; Townsend, Rodney; Vouivoulis, Nikolaos; Watts, Chris
    On 3 October 2007, 40 participants with diverse expertise attended the workshop Tamiflu and the Environment: Implications of Use under Pandemic Conditions to assess the potential human health impact and environmental hazards associated with use of Tamiflu during an influenza pandemic. Based on the identification and risk-ranking of knowledge gaps, the consensus was that oseltamivir ethylester-phosphate (OE-P) and oseltamivir carboxylate (OC) were unlikely to pose an ecotoxicologic hazard to freshwater organisms. OC in river water might hasten the generation of OC-resistance in wildfowl, but this possibility seems less likely than the potential disruption that could be posed by OC and other pharmaceuticals to the operation of sewage treatment plants. The work-group members agreed on the following research priorities: a) available data on the ecotoxicology of OE-P and OC should be published; b) risk should be assessed for OC-contaminated river water generating OC-resistant viruses in wildfowl; c) sewage treatment plant functioning due to microbial inhibition by neuraminidase inhibitors and other antimicrobials used during a pandemic should be investigated: and e realistic worst-case exposure scenarios should be developed. Additional modeling would be useful to identify localized areas within river catchments that might be prone to high pharmaceutical concentrations in sewage treatment plant effluent. Ongoing seasonal use of Tamiflu in Japan offers opportunities for researchers to assess how much OC enters and persists in the aquatic environment.
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    Monitoring occurrence of SARS-CoV-2 in school populations: a wastewater-based approach
    (PLOS (Public Library of Science), 2022-06-17) Castro-Gutierrez, Victor; Hassard, Francis; Vu, Milan; Leitao, Rodrigo; Burczynska, Beata; Wildeboer, Dirk; Stanton, Isobel; Rahimzadeh, Shadi; Baio, Gianluca; Garelick, Hemda; Hofman, Jan; Kasprzyk-Hordern, Barbara; Kwiatkowska, Rachel; Majeed, Azeem; Priest, Sally; Grimsley, Jasmine; Lundy, Lian; Singer, Andrew C.; Di Cesare, Mariachiara
    Clinical testing of children in schools is challenging, with economic implications limiting its frequent use as a monitoring tool of the risks assumed by children and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. Here, a wastewater-based epidemiology approach has been used to monitor 16 schools (10 primary, 5 secondary and 1 post-16 and further education) in England. A total of 296 samples over 9 weeks have been analysed for N1 and E genes using qPCR methods. Of the samples returned, 47.3% were positive for one or both genes with a detection frequency in line with the respective local community. WBE offers a low cost, non-invasive approach for supplementing clinical testing and can provide longitudinal insights that are impractical with traditional clinical testing.
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    Wastewater monitoring for detection of public health markers during the COVID-19 pandemic: near-source monitoring of schools in England over an academic year
    (PLOS (Public Library of Science), 2023-05-30) Hassard, Francis; Vu, Milan; Rahimzadeh, Shadi; Castro-Gutierrez, Victor; Stanton, Isobel; Burczynska, Beata; Wildeboer, Dirk; Baio, Gianluca; Brown, Mathew R.; Garelick, Hemda; Hofman, Jan; Kasprzyk-Hordern, Barbara; Majeed, Azeem; Priest, Sally; Denise, Hubert; Khalifa, Mohammad; Bassano, Irene; Wade, Matthew J.; Grimsley, Jasmine; Lundy, Lian; Singer, Andrew C.; Di Cesare, Mariachiara
    Background: Schools are high-risk settings for infectious disease transmission. Wastewater monitoring for infectious diseases has been used to identify and mitigate outbreaks in many near-source settings during the COVID-19 pandemic, including universities and hospitals but less is known about the technology when applied for school health protection. This study aimed to implement a wastewater surveillance system to detect SARS-CoV-2 and other public health markers from wastewater in schools in England. Methods: A total of 855 wastewater samples were collected from 16 schools (10 primary, 5 secondary and 1 post-16 and further education) over 10 months of school term time. Wastewater was analysed for SARS-CoV-2 genomic copies of N1 and E genes by RT-qPCR. A subset of wastewater samples was sent for genomic sequencing, enabling determination of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 and emergence of variant(s) contributing to COVID-19 infections within schools. In total, >280 microbial pathogens and >1200 AMR genes were screened using RT-qPCR and metagenomics to consider the utility of these additional targets to further inform on health threats within the schools. Results: We report on wastewater-based surveillance for COVID-19 within English primary, secondary and further education schools over a full academic year (October 2020 to July 2021). The highest positivity rate (80.4%) was observed in the week commencing 30th November 2020 during the emergence of the Alpha variant, indicating most schools contained people who were shedding the virus. There was high SARS-CoV-2 amplicon concentration (up to 9.2x106 GC/L) detected over the summer term (8th June - 6th July 2021) during Delta variant prevalence. The summer increase of SARS-CoV-2 in school wastewater was reflected in age-specific clinical COVID-19 cases. Alpha variant and Delta variant were identified in the wastewater by sequencing of samples collected from December to March and June to July, respectively. Lead/lag analysis between SARS-CoV-2 concentrations in school and WWTP data sets show a maximum correlation between the two-time series when school data are lagged by two weeks. Furthermore, wastewater sample enrichment coupled with metagenomic sequencing and rapid informatics enabled the detection of other clinically relevant viral and bacterial pathogens and AMR. Conclusions: Passive wastewater monitoring surveillance in schools can identify cases of COVID-19. Samples can be sequenced to monitor for emerging and current variants of concern at the resolution of school catchments. Wastewater based monitoring for SARS-CoV-2 is a useful tool for SARS-CoV-2 passive surveillance and could be applied for case identification and containment, and mitigation in schools and other congregate settings with high risks of transmission. Wastewater monitoring enables public health authorities to develop targeted prevention and education programmes for hygiene measures within undertested communities across a broad range of use cases.