| 1. |
- Ahmed, Firoz, et al.
(författare)
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First detection of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in the vicinity of COVID-19 isolation Centre in Bangladesh : Variation along the sewer network
- 2021
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 776
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- We made the first and successful attempt to detect SARS-CoV-2 genetic material in the vicinity wastewaters of an isolation centre i.e. Shaheed Bhulu Stadium, situated at Noakhali, Southeastern Bangladesh. Owing to the fact that isolation centre, in general, always contained a constant number of 200 COVID-19 patients, the prime objective of the study was to check if several drains carrying RNA of coronavirus are actually getting diluted or accumulated along with the sewage network. Our finding suggested that while the temporal variation of the genetic load decreased in small drains over the span of 50 days, the main sewer exhibited accumulation of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Other interesting finding displays that probably distance of sampling location in meters is not likely to have a significant impact on the detected gene concentration, although the quantity of the RNA extracted in the downstream of the drain was higher. These findings are of immense value from the perspective of wastewater surveillance of COVID-19, as they largely imply that we do not need to monitor every wastewater system, and probably major drains monitoring may illustrate the city health. Perhaps, we are reporting the accumulation of SARS-CoV-2 genetic material along with the sewer network i.e. from primary to tertiary drains. The study sought further data collection in this line to simulate conditions prevailed in most of the developing countries and to shed further light on decay/accumulation processes of the genetic load of the SARS-COV-2.
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| 2. |
- Islam, Md. Aminul, et al.
(författare)
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A 30-day follow-up study on the prevalence of SARS-COV-2 genetic markers in wastewater from the residence of COVID-19 patient and comparison with clinical positivity
- 2023
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 858, s. 159350-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wastewater based epidemiology (WBE) is an important tool to fight against COVID-19 as it provides insights into the health status of the targeted population from a small single house to a large municipality in a cost-effective, rapid, and non-invasive way. The implementation of wastewater based surveillance (WBS) could reduce the burden on the public health system, management of pandemics, help to make informed decisions, and protect public health. In this study, a house with COVID-19 patients was targeted for monitoring the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 genetic markers in wastewa-ter samples (WS) with clinical specimens (CS) for a period of 30 days. RT-qPCR technique was employed to target non-structural (ORF1ab) and structural-nucleocapsid (N) protein genes of SARS-CoV-2, according to a validated experimental protocol. Physiological, environmental, and biological parameters were also measured following the American Public Health Association (APHA) standard protocols. SARS-CoV-2 viral shedding in wastewater peaked when the highest number of COVID-19 cases were clinically diagnosed. Throughout the study period, 7450 to 23,000 gene copies/1000 mL were detected, where we identified 47 % (57/120) positive samples from WS and 35 % (128/360) from CS. When the COVID-19 patient number was the lowest (2), the highest CT value (39.4; i.e., lowest copy number) was identified from WS. On the other hand, when the COVID-19 patients were the highest (6), the lowest CT value (25.2 i.e., highest copy numbers) was obtained from WS. An advance signal of increased SARS-CoV-2 viral load from the COVID-19 patient was found in WS earlier than in the CS. Using customized primer sets in a traditional PCR approach, we confirmed that all SARS-CoV-2 variants identified in both CS and WS were Delta variants (B.1.617.2). To our knowledge, this is the first follow-up study to determine a temporal relationship be-tween COVID-19 patients and their discharge of SARS-CoV-2 RNA genetic markers in wastewater from a single house including all family members for clinical sampling from a developing country (Bangladesh), where a proper sewage system is lacking. The salient findings of the study indicate that monitoring the genetic markers of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in wastewater could identify COVID-19 cases, which reduces the burden on the public health system during COVID-19 pandemics.
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| 3. |
- Jakariya, Md., et al.
(författare)
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ICT-based solution for efficient fecal sludge management : An experience from Bangladesh
- 2023
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Ingår i: Heliyon. - : Elsevier BV. - 2405-8440. ; 9:4, s. e15200-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- In Bangladesh, people primarily depend on on-site sanitation facilities (OSSF) with an immense challenge in achieving safe sanitation due to unplanned infrastructure development, improper management of fecal sludge, and inadequate monitoring. The commitment of attaining Sustain-able Development Goals (SDG) 6.2 (ensuring safe sanitation for all) by 2030 requires immediate attention in the management of fecal sludge for low-middle income countries. This paper pre-sented the findings, challenges, and possible ways forward from a study conducted to provide data for Information and Communication Technology (ICT)-based fecal sludge management (FSM) at a municipality in the northwest of Bangladesh. A total of 18,808 households and 407 institutions in Saidpur municipality, a non-sewered town in Nilphamari district, were studied to understand the type of containment structures and on-ground desludging practices. The study showed around 10% of containments were connected to the drains illegally, 95% of the people in Saidpur practiced unsafe disposal, and 7% still practiced open defecation. To identify these malpractices, the study also implemented an ICT-based sustainable solution through a web application that enabled the local administrator to have a global look at the sanitation scenario of the municipality. The dashboard was developed to create a total sanitation monitoring system, identify defaulters, allow target-based safe managed sanitation service strategies, and ensure sustainability in FSM. The study highlighted the accessibility of vacuum truck services projecting through a spatial map and identified methods to empty the septic tanks where Vacutag services are unavailable by engaging local pit emptiers. The innovative approach of fecal sludge man-agement will help not only to improve the existing sanitation practices but also raise community awareness to ensure sustainable sanitation system. Altogether, the web system will work as a medium to manage the faecal sludge for the existing co-compost plant where the faeces is con-verted into organic soil conditioner, creating prospects for a green business mechanism.
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| 4. |
- Islam, Md. Aminul, et al.
(författare)
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An opinion on Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring (WBEM) with Clinical Diagnostic Test (CDT) for detecting high-prevalence areas of community COVID-19 infections
- 2023
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Ingår i: CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & HEALTH. - : Elsevier BV. - 2468-5844. ; 31
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring (WBEM) is an efficient surveillance tool during the COVID-19 pandemic as it meets all requirements of a complete monitoring system including early warning, tracking the current trend, prevalence of the disease, detection of genetic diversity as well as the upsurging SARS-CoV-2 new variants with mutations from the wastewater samples. Subsequently, Clinical Diagnostic Test (CDT) is widely acknowledged as the global gold standard method for disease monitoring, despite several drawbacks such as high diagnosis cost, reporting bias, and the difficulty of tracking asymptomatic patients (silent spreaders of the COVID-19 infection who manifest no symptoms of the disease). In this current review and opinion-based study, we first propose a combined approach for detecting COVID-19 infection in communities using wastewater and clinical sample testing, which may be feasible and effective as an emerging public health tool for the long-term nationwide surveillance system. The viral concentrations in wastewater samples can be used as indicators to monitor ongoing SARS-CoV-2 trends, predict asymptomatic carriers, and detect COVID-19 hotspot areas, while clinical samples help in detecting mostly symptomatic individuals for isolating positive cases in communities and validate WBEM protocol for mass vaccination including booster doses for COVID-19.
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| 5. |
- Jakariya, Md, et al.
(författare)
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Wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance to monitor the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in developing countries with onsite sanitation facilities
- 2022
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Ingår i: Environmental Pollution. - : Elsevier BV. - 0269-7491 .- 1873-6424. ; 311
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a valuable approach for forecasting disease outbreaks in developed countries with a centralized sewage infrastructure. On the other hand, due to the absence of well-defined and systematic sewage networks, WBE is challenging to implement in developing countries like Bangladesh where most people live in rural areas. Identification of appropriate locations for rural Hotspot Based Sampling (HBS) and urban Drain Based Sampling (DBS) are critical to enable WBE based monitoring system. We investigated the best sampling locations from both urban and rural areas in Bangladesh after evaluating the sanitation infrastructure for forecasting COVID-19 prevalence. A total of 168 wastewater samples were collected from 14 districts of Bangladesh during each of the two peak pandemic seasons. RT-qPCR commercial kits were used to target ORF1ab and N genes. The presence of SARS-CoV-2 genetic materials was found in 98% (165/168) and 95% (160/168) wastewater samples in the first and second round sampling, respectively. Although waste-water effluents from both the marketplace and isolation center drains were found with the highest amount of genetic materials according to the mixed model, quantifiable SARS-CoV-2 RNAs were also identified in the other four sampling sites. Hence, wastewater samples of the marketplace in rural areas and isolation centers in urban areas can be considered the appropriate sampling sites to detect contagion hotspots. This is the first complete study to detect SARS-CoV-2 genetic components in wastewater samples collected from rural and urban areas for monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic. The results based on the study revealed a correlation between viral copy numbers in wastewater samples and SARS-CoV-2 positive cases reported by the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) as part of the national surveillance program for COVID-19 prevention. The findings of this study will help in setting strategies and guidelines for the selection of appropriate sampling sites, which will facilitate in development of comprehensive wastewater-based epidemiological systems for surveillance of rural and urban areas of low-income countries with inadequate sewage infrastructure.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Amin, Nuhu, et al.
(författare)
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Dependency of sanitation infrastructure on the discharge of faecal coliform and SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in wastewater from COVID and non-COVID hospitals in Dhaka, Bangladesh
- 2023
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Ingår i: Science of the Total Environment. - : Elsevier BV. - 0048-9697 .- 1879-1026. ; 867
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA in wastewater can be used as an indicator of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 infection in specific catchment areas. We conducted a hospital-based study to explore wastewater management in healthcare facilities and analyzed SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the hospital wastewater in Dhaka city during the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak between September 2020-January 2021. We selected three COVID-hospitals, two non-COVID-hospitals, and one non-COVID-hospital with COVID wards, conducted spot-checks of the sanitation systems (i.e., toilets, drainage, and septic-tank), and collected 90 untreated wastewater effluent samples (68 from COVID and 22 from non-COVID hospitals). E. coli was detected using a membrane filtration technique and reported as colony forming unit (CFU). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected using the iTaq Universal Probes One-Step kit for RT-qPCR amplification of the SARS-CoV-2 ORF1ab and N gene targets and quantified for SARS-CoV-2 genome equivalent copies (GEC) per mL of sample. None of the six hospitals had a primary wastewater treatment facility; two COVID hospitals had functional septic tanks, and the rest of the hospitals had either broken onsite systems or no containment of wastewater. Overall, 100 % of wastewater samples were positive with a high concentration of E.coli (mean = 7.0 log10 CFU/100 mL). Overall, 67 % (60/90) samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2. The highest SARS-CoV-2 concentrations (median: 141 GEC/mL; range: 13-18,214) were detected in wastewater from COVID-hospitals, and in non-COVID-hospitals, the median SARS-CoV-2 concentration was 108 GEC/mL (range: 30-1829). Our results indicate that high concentrations of E. coli and SARS-CoV-2 were discharged through the hospital wastewa-ter (both COVID and non-COVID) without treatment into the ambient water bodies. Although there is no evidence for transmission of SARS-CoV-2 via wastewater, this study highlights the significant risk posed by wastewater from health care facilities in Dhaka for the many other diseases that are spread via faecal oral route. Hospitals in low-income settings could function as sentinel sites to monitor outbreaks through wastewater-based epidemiological surveillance systems. Hospitals should aim to adopt the appropriate wastewater treatment technologies to reduce the discharge of pathogens into the environment and mitigate environmental exposures.
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| 8. |
- Bhattacharya, Prosun, 1962-, et al.
(författare)
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Prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in Communities Through Wastewater Surveillance—a Potential Approach for Estimation of Disease Burden
- 2021
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Ingår i: Current Pollution Reports. - : Springer Nature. - 2198-6592. ; 7:2, s. 160-166
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The episodic outbreak of COVID-19 due to SARS-CoV-2 is severely affecting the economy, and the global count of infected patients is increasing. The actual number of patients had been underestimated due to limited facilities for testing as well as asymptomatic nature of the expression of COVID-19 on individual basis. Tragically, for emerging economies with high population density, the situation has been more complex due to insufficient testing facilities for diagnosis of the disease. However, the recent reports about persistent shedding of viral RNA of SARS-CoV-2 in the human feces have created a possibility to track the prevalence and trends of the disease in communities, known as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). In this article, we highlight the current limitations and future prospects for WBE to manage pandemics.
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| 9. |
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| 10. |
- Haque, Rehnuma, et al.
(författare)
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Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Bangladesh : Opportunities and challenges
- 2022
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Ingår i: CURRENT OPINION IN ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE & HEALTH. - : Elsevier BV. - 2468-5844. ; 27, s. 100334-
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The ongoing pandemic of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a public health crisis of global concern. The progression of the COVID-19 pandemic has been monitored in the first place by testing symptomatic individuals for SARS-CoV-2 virus in the respiratory samples. Concurrently, wastewater carries feces, urine, and sputum that potentially contains SARS-CoV-2 intact virus or partially damaged viral genetic materials excreted by infected individuals. This brings significant opportunities for understanding the infection dynamics by environmental surveillance. It has advantages for the country, especially in densely populated areas where individual clinical testing is difficult. However, there are several challenges including: 1) establishing a sampling plan and schedule that is representative of the various catchment populations 2) development and validation of standardized protocols for the laboratory analysis 3) understanding hydraulic flows and virus transport in complex wastewater drainage systems and 4) collaborative efforts from government agencies, NGOs, public health units and academia.
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| 11. |
- Kumar, M., et al.
(författare)
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Frontier review on the propensity and repercussion of SARS-CoV-2 migration to aquatic environment
- 2020
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Ingår i: Journal of Hazardous Materials Letters. - : Elsevier BV. - 2666-9110. ; 1
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Increased concern has recently emerged pertaining to the occurrence of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in aquatic environment during the current coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While infectious SARS-CoV-2 has yet to be identified in the aquatic environment, the virus potentially enters the wastewater stream from patient excretions and a precautionary approach dictates evaluating transmission pathways to ensure public health and safety. Although enveloped viruses have presumed low persistence in water and are generally susceptible to inactivation by environmental stressors, previously identified enveloped viruses persist in the aqueous environment from days to several weeks. Our analysis suggests that not only the surface water, but also groundwater, represent SARS-CoV-2 control points through possible leaching and infiltrations of effluents from health care facilities, sewage, and drainage water. Most fecally transmitted viruses are highly persistent in the aquatic environment, and therefore, the persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in water is essential to inform its fate in water, wastewater and groundwater and subsequent human exposure.
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| 12. |
- Quino Lima, Israel, Doctoral student, 1980-, et al.
(författare)
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Geochemical mechanisms of natural arsenic mobility in the hydrogeologic system of Lower Katari Basin, Bolivian Altiplano
- 2021
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Ingår i: Journal of Hydrology. - : Elsevier BV. - 0022-1694 .- 1879-2707. ; 594
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Arsenic (As) contamination of drinking water is a worldwide problem. The natural origin of As, its mobility, and transport are of paramount interest in Bolivian Altiplano due to its presence in mineral deposits, brines, hot springs, and volcanic rocks. In this study, a geochemical spatial-temporal approach was used to understand the sources and factors that regulate the mobilization and fate of As in water bodies as well as sediments of Lower Katari Basin (LKB). The study reveals that high levels of As (288 mu g/L), boron (B) (2473 mu g/L), manganese (Mn) (7259 mu g/L), and high salinity (23850 mu S/cm) are present in shallow drinking water wells, which exceed the guideline values of the Bolivian regulation (NB-512) and WHO. Seasonal changes (mean monthly rainfall in the dry and rainy period: 6-89 mm) and their impact on water quantity (0.9-5.1 m(3)/s), in addition to the load of solids and liquids of residual origin (Pallina River), pose health risks for the communities at the banks of the Katari River. The hydrogeological study indicates that the groundwater flows from southeast to northwest (SE-NW), which indicate interaction between groundwater and surface water in this region. The spatial distribution of As varies considerably due to geological characteristics of the area as well as due to the heterogeneously distributed evaporites in the sediments (alluvial, fluvial-lacustrine); however, the highest concentrations of As are observed in the alluvial sediments of the northern region. Sequential extraction (BCR) of sediments along with geochemical modeling (mineral saturation indices) indicates that iron (Fe) and aluminum (Al) (hydr)oxides are the most important adsorbent minerals of As in the central and southern region of LKB. The hydrochemistry of water bodies in LKB is strongly influenced by the interaction with the sediment constituents and by the spatial-temporal variations. Therefore, the determination of the distribution of As among the different geochemical fractions was useful to find the relative proportions of As transported by different chemical mechanisms (adsorption/dissolution) and their spatial-temporal variation.
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| 13. |
- Thakur, B. K., et al.
(författare)
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Arsenic in drinking water sources in the Middle Gangetic Plains in Bihar : An assessment of the depth of wells to ensure safe water supply
- 2021
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Ingår i: Groundwater for Sustainable Development. - : Elsevier BV. - 2352-801X. ; 12
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- This study assesses the depth of tubewell and the associated concentration of arsenic (As) in drinking water within the arsenic-affected regions in Bihar, India. A survey of 935 tubewell from two As-contaminated blocks in Bihar were conducted to collect and test the water samples. The results demonstrate that As concentration is mainly found in shallow tubewells (14–49 m deep), which is the main source of drinking water in the region in deep tubewells (>49 m deep), have arsenic concentration < 50 μg/L. The analytical results by field test kits (FTK) revealed that the levels of As in around 61% of the drinking water sources were above 10 μg/L, 20.8% samples contained arsenic 51-<100 μg/L, 16.9% contained 101-<300 μg/L, and 5.03% of the samples contained arsenic between 300 and 500 μg/L. Iron test results showed that around 74.4% of the samples contained iron at more than the prescribed 500 μg/L level of WHO. The study also revealed a general lack of awareness about the drinking water contamination and its associated health impacts. Therefore, awareness through various channels among the affected stakeholders will be helpful for the households to change their water sources (Saha et al., 2019).
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