Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) wastewater surveillance has become an increasingly important tool since the initial moments of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, mainly conducted at a large population scale. However, the large-sized sewersheds may not provide suitable information for monitoring localized outbreaks. After the declaration of a community COVID-19 outbreak in two neighborhoods of Castellón (Spain), SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels were monitored in wastewater samples. Moreover, genomic sequencing was performed. Thirty-three samples were collected in 2020, distributed over three points of the sewage network, two of which were close to the areas where the cases were declared. The third point was located at the inlet of the municipal wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The samples were analyzed by RT-qPCR, using specific N1 and N2 target regions. The sum of confirmed cases, with the date of symptoms onset within the 3 weeks before each sampling day, was calculated. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected on most days in the two sampling points at neighborhood level, and the detection became negative when the number of cases with symptoms onset during the last 21 days in the study areas decreased to 0 or 1 case. The genomic sequencing performed for RNA from wastewater and clinical samples showed the same variant. The detection of SARS-CoV-2 and the subsequent non-detection provided the epidemiologists in charge of controlling the outbreak with useful information to confirm its closure, complementing the clinical and epidemiological data. Our findings illustrate the value of wastewater surveillance for localized outbreaks, especially in situations of low incidence of COVID-19 at the broader community level.
Since OCPs with different historical usage and atmospheric input may show varied environmental behaviors and risks to the local residents and relevant research on underdeveloped areas in the middle latitudes of China is lacking, it is essential to classify the contamination status and sources of OCPs from these middle latitudes areas and to evaluate the related health risks to humans. Fifty soil samples were collected and analyzed within five cities in the Hexi Corridor in Northwest China. The ranges of ∑24OCPs, ∑DDTs, and ∑HCHs concentrations in the soil samples were 23.1-393 ng/g, 4.96-167 ng/g, and 3.40-97.5 ng/g, respectively. The residual OCPs in soil were dominated by DDTs and HCHs, accounting for 38.7% and 16.1% of ∑24OCPs. Source analysis shows that the HCHs come from historical application and possible recent pesticide use, and DDTs are mainly from early application residues that formed in aerobic environments created by agriculture ploughing, which aerates the soil. The risk assessment showed that the soil in the Hexi Corridor may have a potential risk of residual OCPs, and the carcinogenic risk (CR) was 1.90 × 10-7-6.12 × 10-7 for adults and 5.6 × 10-7-1.8 × 10-6 for children, but the hazardous index (HI) was 0.0093 to 0.2817 for adults and 0.032 to 0.932 for children. Only a few samples showed values higher than the acceptable range for children. Therefore, in this study area, there is a low health risk to local residents. Nevertheless, our results provide a strong rationale for ongoing risk assessment and management and, hopefully, eradication of OCPs in the environment.
This article explores the role of smart technologies in advancing Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) for enhanced disease surveillance. Disease surveillance is crucial for monitoring and controlling infectious diseases, and WBE provides a complementary approach by analyzing wastewater to identify and track pathogens. During the COVID-19 pandemic, WBE has been successfully used to detect and monitor SARS-CoV-2 in various types of wastewater, providing early warning of outbreaks and identifying emerging hotspots. However, WBE faces challenges such as the need for specialized equipment and sensitive methodologies. To overcome these limitations, biosensors have been developed, offering high sensitivity, specificity, and rapid results. Electrochemical biosensors are particularly promising for WBE due to their real-time connectivity, low-cost design, and wireless data collection, despite their limitations. Integration of smart sensors into the Internet of Things (IoT) enables seamless data integration and real-time monitoring. Furthermore, the widespread use of smartphones presents an opportunity to revolutionize smart diagnostics by leveraging their features for data analysis and communication.
Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) provides the ability to generate inclusive and comprehensive population-level health assessments of communities. Recent work suggests these inherent benefits of WBE can serve to support vulnerable communities worldwide, such as migrant populations. The topic of forced migration has gained significant attention in recent decades as conflict and climate change events have increasingly become major drivers of migration around the world. However, information on the health of displaced populations during times of active mobility is lacking due to several logistical and ethical challenges using conventional methods. As environmental, political, and humanitarian conditions continue to evolve, it appears necessary to pursue alternative and adaptable approaches to acquire the health status of such dynamic and vulnerable populations. Here, we propose a call to action to apply WBE in migrant populations to offer inclusive and minimally invasive health assessments in order to: (1) close data gaps in the health information of displaced populations actively traveling along migratory pathways; and (2) promote greater efficacy in deployed interventions. Suggestions to pursue urgent migrant-specific health priorities are proposed, including antimicrobial resistance (AMR), infectious diseases, and malnutrition, along with considerations to promote ethically sound investigation. Overall, these recommendations may serve as a foundation to support subsequent investigation, with the purpose of encouraging global collaboration to offer new insights into the health of migrant and/or forcibly displaced populations.
Bisphenols (BPs) are endocrine disruptors (EDCs) that produce hormone effects and other toxic effects. Due to their widespread use, BPs enter into the environment, such as rivers, and hence may accumulate in aquatic organisms. In this study, we investigated the tissue-specific bioaccumulation of BPs in different wild fish species in the North and West Rivers of the Pearl River system, South China, and assessed the human health risks via fish consumption. Firstly, the pretreatment method for 15 BPs in different fish tissues (muscle, liver, bile, plasma, intestine, and stomach) was established, and the target BPs were analyzed using ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (UPLC-MS/MS). The total concentration of BPs in surface water was up to 1,530 ng/L. Bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol F (BPF), and bisphenol F (BPF) were the dominant ingredients. BPs were widely detected in fish tissues. Among them, BPF had the highest detection efficiency and the concentration in fish muscle and liver tissues were 401 and 6,257 ng/g ww, respectively. BPA and BPAF had the highest detection efficiencies, with concentrations of 434 and 357 ng/g ww in intestine, respectively, and of 14 and 26 ng/g ww in stomach, respectively. BPA had the highest detection efficiency and concentration in fish bile up to 17,160 ng/mL. BPAF had the highest detection efficiency and concentration of 8 ng/g ww in fish plasma. Liver and intestine showed log bioaccumulation factors up to 6.93 L/kg, exhibiting high bioaccumulation ability for BPs into biota. The hazard quotients of human exposure risks of BPA via consumption of fish muscle were in the range of 4.97 × 10-4-8.97 × 10-4, indicating a low health risk of BPA through daily fish consumption.
Thirdhand smoke (THS) is the accumulation of secondhand smoke on surfaces that ages with time. THS exposure is a potential health threat to children, partners of smokers, and workers in environments with current or past smoking, and needs further investigation. In this study, we hypothesized that thirdhand Electronic Nicotine Delivery Systems (ENDS) exposures elicit lung and systemic inflammation due to resuspended particulate matter (PM) and inorganic compounds that remain after active vaping has ceased. To test our hypothesis, we exposed C57BL/6J mice to cotton towels contaminated with ENDS aerosols from unflavored vape fluid (6 mg nicotine in 50/50 propylene glycol/vegetable glycerin) for 1h/day, five days/week, for three weeks. We assessed protein levels in serum and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) using a multiplex protein assay. The mean ± sd for PM10 and PM2.5 measurements in exposed mouse cages were 8.3 ± 14.0 and 4.6 ± 7.5 µg/m3, compared to 6.1 ± 11.2 and 3.7 ± 6.6 µg/m3 in control cages respectively. Two compounds, 4-methyl-1, 2-dioxolane and 4-methyl-cyclohexanol, were detected in vape fluid and on ENDS-contaminated towels, but not on control towels. Mice exposed to ENDS-contaminated towels had lower levels of serum Il-7 (P = 0.022, n = 7), and higher levels of Il-13 in the BALF (P = 0.006, n = 7) than those exposed to control towels (n = 6). After adjusting for sex and age, Il-7 and Il-13 levels were still associated with thirdhand vaping exposure (P = 0.010 and P = 0.017, respectively). This study provides further evidence that thirdhand ENDS aerosols can contaminate surfaces, and subsequently influence lung and systemic health upon exposure.