Leveraging wastewater surveillance for managing the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and concerned pathogens during FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022

Abstract

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has been proven effective for the monitoring of infectious disease outbreaks during mass gathering events and for timely public health interventions. As part of Qatar's efforts to monitor and combat the spread of infectious diseases during the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022™ (FWC’22), wastewater surveillance was used to monitor the spread of SARS-CoV-2, human enterovirus, and poliovirus. The screening covered five major wastewater treatment plants servicing the event locations between October 2022 and January 2023. Viruses were concentrated from the wastewater samples by PEG precipitation, followed by qRT-PCR to measure the viral load in the wastewater. As expected, SARS-CoV-2 and enterovirus RNA were detected in all samples, while poliovirus was not detected. The concentration of SARS-CoV-2 was correlated with population density, such as areas surrounding the World Cup venues, and with the number of reported clinical cases. Additionally, we observed temporal fluctuations in viral RNA concentrations, with peak levels coinciding with the group stage matches of the FWC’22. This study has been useful in providing public health authorities with an efficient and cost-effective surveillance system for potential infectious disease outbreaks during mega-events.