Wastewater Epidemiology and Evaluation of Use in Surveillance for COVID-19

Abstract

Wastewater epidemiology allows social monitoring of exposure to a factor. Researchers are studying whether this method, which is used for such substances (addictive substances, alcohol, DNA / RNA biomarkers, pesticides etc) can be used as an early warning system and detectability of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater for COVID-19 surveillance. The purpose of this study is to introduce the emergence of the concept of wastewater epidemiology, its application and usage areas, and to discuss its place in COVID-19 surveillance. For this review, the articles obtained by searching in the databases for the keywords "waterbased epidemiology", "sewage epidemiology", "wastewater" and "COVID-19" published after March 11, 2020 were examined. In these articles, features that may be advantageous such as establishing early warning systems, creating regional maps, and following asymptomatic people are emphasized. Wastewater epidemiology is noticeable as it is a different approach as an environmental surveillance method. However, WHO stated that there is not enough evidence yet to recommend this method as a standard approach in COVID-19 surveillance.