DEVELOPMENT AND FIELD VERIFICATION OF NOVEL PASSIVE SAMPLER FOR EARLY DETECTION OF SARS-CoV-2 PATIENT FOR INDIVIDUAL BUILDING WASTEWATER

The objectives of this study were: 1) to develop novel passive sampler (PoP-CoV sampler) that enables the survey in manholes of toilet drainage from individual buildings, 2) to verify the availability of the sampler in actual fields such as a hospital and a quarantine hotel for SARS-CoV-2 patients, and a business office. The results indicated that the PoP-CoV sampler was useful for manhole surveys, because the SARS-CoV-2 was adsorbed on the PoP-CoV sampler regardless of stationary or running waters. Moreover, Ct values for SARS-CoV-2 in samples processed by PoP-CoV sampler were up to 7.0 lower than that in corresponding grab samples. Then, a field investigation using the PoP-CoV sampler was carried out at an office building where 111 people work. Unexpectedly, a positive signal was successfully detected from the building wastewater where later one case was diagnosed SARS-CoV-2 infection with PCR testing of individual specimens. By this method, we may have succeeded in detecting one SARS-CoV-2 patient from 111 people 4 to 5 days before the positive confirmation date (onset date or 1 day before), though we cannot deny that positive signal might have come from asymptomatic patients who were present during the survey period. Therefore, the PoP-CoV sampler is expected to be a powerful tool for wastewater surveillance in individual building SARS-CoV-2 monitoring.