In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials faced the daunting challenge of keeping travelers safe and preventing the spread of the virus around the world. As wastewater monitoring was being employed worldwide to track the outbreak at a community level, this study highlights one of the first during the pandemic to analyze wastewater from aircraft tanks.
Wastewater samples were tested from 37 flights landing in Australia for the presence of SARS-CoV-2. All passengers were required to undergo a 14-day quarantine upon arrival to mitigate any potential spread of the virus.
To analyze the wastewater, researchers aggregated samples and concentrated them using the Concentrating Pipette, followed by virus extraction (QIAmp). They then examined the extracted viruses using qPCR (BioRad).
The Concentrating Pipette instrument “was used because it provides a faster concentration step than most other methods (e.g., adsorption-extraction, centrifugation, precipitation) and achieves relatively high recovery efficiency...”
The results were revealing: 24 of the 37 flights—about 65%—tested positive for the virus in their wastewater. Notably, six flights were linked to just one infected passenger each. During the subsequent quarantine period, clinical testing identified 112 COVID-19 cases among passengers. The study demonstrated an impressive 87.5% accuracy in identifying positive cases and a 76.9% accuracy in confirming negative ones.
This research underscores the importance of monitoring airplane wastewater as a vital tool in tracking potential virus importation and enhancing pandemic preparedness.
Read the Publication
Wastewater surveillance demonstrates high predictive value for COVID-19 infection aboard repatriation flights to Australia Warish Ahmed, et al. Environment International 2022
In a related study, InnovaPrep's concentration enabled PCR and sequencing technology to detect the first case of the Omicron variant arriving in Australia from an airliner tank sample demonstrating that surveillance of aircraft wastewater samples provides valuable information regarding the global spread of emerging variants of concern.
Detection of the Omicron (B.1.1.529) variant of SARS-CoV-2 in aircraft wastewater, Warish Ahmed, et al. Science of the Total Environment 2022
