Detection of Multiple Human Viruses, including Mpox, Using a Wastewater Surveillance Approach in Brazil

Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering. School of Engineering. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering. School of Engineering. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Department of Sanitary and Environmental Engineering. School of Engineering. Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Department of Social Pharmacy. College of Pharmacy. Federal University of Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Department of Social Pharmacy. College of Pharmacy. Federal University of Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Department of Social Pharmacy. College of Pharmacy. Federal University of Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Clinical and Toxicological Analysis Department. College of Pharmacy. Federal University of Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Clinical and Toxicological Analysis Department. College of Pharmacy. Federal University of Minas Gerais. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Centro Federal de Educação Tecnológica. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
Department of Marine Sciences. Marine Institute. Universidade Federal de São Paulo. Santos, SP, Brazil.
General Coordination of Arbovirus Surveillance. Department of Health and Environmental Surveillance. Ministry of Health. Brasília, DF, Brazil.
Central Public Health Laboratory. Ezequiel Dias Foundation. Belo Horizonte,MG, Brazil.
Central Public Health Laboratory. Ezequiel Dias Foundation. Belo Horizonte,MG, Brazil.
Coordination of Surveillance, Emergency Preparedness and Response. Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization. Pan-Americana da Saúde/Organização Mundial da Saúde. Brasilia, DF, Brazil.
Department of Sciences and Technologies for Sustainable Development and One Health. Universita Campus Bio-Medico di Roma. Roma, Italy/René Rachou Institute. Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
René Rachou Institute. Oswaldo Cruz Foundation. Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.

Abstract

Sewage surveillance can be used as an effective complementary tool for detecting pathogens in local communities, providing insights into emerging threats and aiding in the monitoring of outbreaks. In this study using qPCR and whole genomic sewage surveillance, we detected the Mpox virus along with other viruses, in municipal and hospital wastewaters in Belo Horizonte, Brazil over a 9-month period (from July 2022 until March 2023). MPXV DNA detection rates varied in our study, with 19.6% (11 out of 56 samples) detected through the hybrid capture method of whole-genome sequencing and 20% (12 out of 60 samples) through qPCR. In hospital wastewaters, the detection rate was higher, at 40% (12 out of 30 samples) compared to 13.3% (4 out of 30 samples) in municipal wastewaters. This variation could be attributed to the relatively low number of MPXV cases reported in the city, which ranged from 106 to 341 cases during the study period, and the dilution effects, given that each of the two wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) investigated serves approximately 1.1 million inhabitants. Additionally, nine other virus families were identified in both hospitals and municipal wastewaters, including Adenoviridade, Astroviridae, Caliciviridae, Picornaviridade, Polyomaviridae, Coronaviridae (which includes SARS-CoV-2), Herspesviridae, Papillomaviridae and Flaviviridae (notably including Dengue). These findings underscore the potential of genomic sewage surveillance as a robust public health tool for monitoring a wide range of viruses circulating in both community and hospitals environments, including MPXV.

Keywords

Mpox virus
genomic surveillance
influent wastewater treatment plants (WWTP)
qPCR
sewage virome
wastewater surveillance
whole-genome sequencing

Publisher

MDPI AG

Citation

CALABRIA DE ARAUJO, Juliana et al. Detection of Multiple Human Viruses, including Mpox, Using a Wastewater Surveillance Approach in Brazil. Pathogens, v. 13, n. 7, 589, 2024. doi.org/10.3390/pathogens13070589

ISSN

2076-0817

Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: https://www.arca.fiocruz.br/handle/icict/65861

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Open access

Sustainable Development Goals

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