Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is shed in the stool of infected individuals and can be detected in sewage and wastewater contaminated with infected stool. This study is aimed at detecting the virus and its potential survival in sewage and wastewater in Ghana. The cross-sectional study included samples from 16 validated environmental surveillance sites in 7 regions of Ghana. A total of 354 samples composed of wastewater (280) and sewage (74) were collected from November 2020 to November 2022. Overall, 17% of the samples were positive for SARS-CoV-2 by real-time PCR, with 6% in sewage and 11% in wastewater. The highest number of positive samples was collected from the Greater Accra Region (7.3%) with the least recorded in the Bono East Region (0.6%). Further characterization of the positive samples using the next-generation sequencing (NGS) approach yielded two variants: Alpha (B.1.1.7) and Delta (AY.36). Attempts to isolate SARS-CoV-2 in the Vero cell line were not successful probably due to the low viral load concentrations (Ct ) or prolonged exposure to high temperatures rendering the virus noninfectious. Our findings suggest that SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage and wastewater may not be infectious, but the prevalence shows that the virus persists in the communities within Ghana.

中文翻译：

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加纳首次对污水和废水中的 SARS-CoV-2 进行分子检测

严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒 2 (SARS-CoV-2) 在感染者的粪便中排出，并且可以在受感染粪便污染的污水和废水中检测到。这项研究旨在检测该病毒及其在加纳污水和废水中的潜在生存能力。该横断面研究包括来自加纳 7 个地区 16 个经过验证的环境监测点的样本。 2020 年 11 月至 2022 年 11 月期间，共收集了 354 个样本，其中包括废水（280 个）和污水（74 个）。总体而言，实时 PCR 检测结果显示，17% 的样本呈 SARS-CoV-2 阳性，其中 6% 呈阳性。污水中11%，废水中11%。阳性样本数量最多的是大阿克拉地区（7.3%），最少的是博诺东部地区（0.6%）。使用下一代测序 (NGS) 方法对阳性样本进行进一步表征，产生了两种变体：Alpha (B.1.1.7) 和 Delta (AY.36)。在 Vero 细胞系中分离 SARS-CoV-2 的尝试并未成功，可能是由于病毒载量浓度较低（Ct）或长时间暴露在高温下使病毒不具有传染性。我们的研究结果表明，污水和废水中的 SARS-CoV-2 RNA 可能不具有传染性，但流行情况表明该病毒在加纳境内的社区中持续存在。