Reflections of COVID-19 cases in the wastewater loading of SARS-CoV-2 RNA: A case of three major cities of Gujarat, India

Abstract Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a promising approach to understand the actual prevalence of COVID-19 disease at the community level. Different studies have cited the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater samples. In the present study, eighteen influent wastewater samples from different sewage treatment plants and pumping stations (5 samples from Vadodara city, 4 from Gandhinagar, and 9 from Ahmedabad city) were collected and analyzed for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Gujarat state, India. The results showed the highest SARS-CoV-2 effective gene concentration in Vadodara (3078 copies/L), followed by Ahmedabad (2968 copies/L) and Gandhinagar (354 copies/L). On comparing the virus gene concentration in wastewater samples, the SARS-CoV-2 genetic material exhibited a positive relationship with the number of confirmed and active cases in in all three cities. However, a minor variation in SARS-CoV-2 effective gene concentration was seen between Vadodara and Ahmedabad despite a >2.5 and >1.5 folds differences in the cumulative number of confirmed and active cases, respectively. This may occur primarily due to the greater test positivity ratio in Vadodara (3.30%) than Ahmedabad (1.40%) and might be the higher number of asymptomatic patients in Vadodara. The study confirms the potential of the WBE that can be used at a large scale around the globe for better dealing with the pandemic situation.