Abstract
The ongoing Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has infected over 58 million people and claimed over 1.58 millions deaths globally (as of 11th December 2020) since its first outbreak in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Initially, the numbers of infected patients and death was largely contained in China with 98% of all confirmed infected cases. However, the increased rate of new infected cases outside of China like United States, Italy, and Spain raises questions on the virus characteristics and its routes of transmission. Although the main transmission modes of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) are through direct contact and respiratory droplet/aerosol inhalation, current studies stipulate that SARS-CoV-2 RNA is found in sewerage, suggesting the potential transmission of SARS-COV-2 through wastewater systems. This paper seeks to review potential exposure routes of SARS-COV-2 in urban environments, the survival rate of coronaviruses that pose human health risks, and to provide relevant safety recommendations to reduce the impact of ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. There is an urgent need for wastewater effluent and water treatment supply epidemiology surveillance, especially in developing countries with subpar wastewater treatment systems and infrastructure to reduce human and ecological risks to protect populations from infectious diseases outbreak.
Highlights
The novel zoonotic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), an etiological agent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected over 58 million people worldwide and continues to spread globally (WHO 2020b)
This review paper has highlighted the significant gap in the potential role of water and wastewater treatment spreading the COVID-19 pandemic virus, following previous research on different coronaviruses such as SARS-CoV, MERS-CoV, gastroenteritis (TGEV) and mouse hepatitis (MHV)
New findings from Netherlands have proven that the novel SARS-CoV-2 virus is able to survive in wastewater
Summary
The novel zoonotic Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), an etiological agent of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has infected over 58 million people worldwide and continues to spread globally (WHO 2020b). This novel coronavirus (nCoV) was identified in Wuhan, China in late December 2019 and was tentatively named as 2019-nCoV (Coronaviridae Study Group of the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses 2020). The fatality rate of SAR-CoV-2 is 2.3% which is lower than other coronavirus strains such as SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV with 9.5% and 34.4%, respectively (Petrosillo et al 2020). The estimate R0 of COVID-19 is 2-2.5 people which is higher than SARS (1.7-1.9 people) and MERS (less than 1 person) (Liu et al 2020b; Petrosillo et al 2020)
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
