Presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 virus in wastewater in the Kingdom of Bahrain during the COVID‐19 pandemic

Abstract

AbstractBackgroundSeveral countries, including Bahrain, used wastewater surveillance for disease activity monitoring. This study aimed to determine the presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 in untreated wastewater and to correlate it with the disease spread.MethodsA retrospective review was conducted for all wastewater samples tested for SARS‐CoV‐2 in public health laboratories from November 2020 to October 2022. Samples were collected weekly between February and October 2022 from different areas across Bahrain. Real‐time polymerase chain reaction was used to test for the presence of SARS‐CoV‐2 in wastewater, and the results were correlated with the number of COVID‐19 cases in the same area.ResultsOf 387 wastewater samples, 103 (26.6%) samples tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2. In late 2020, of 42 samples collected initially, four (9.5%) samples tested positive for SARS‐CoV‐2 in the four locations that hosted COVID‐19 isolation facilities. Between February and October 2022, 345 specimens of wastewater were tested, and 99 (28.7%) were positive. The highest detection rate was in February, June, and July (60%, 45%, and 43%, respectively), which corresponded to COVID‐19 peaks during 2022, and the lowest detection rate was in August and September (11% and 0%, respectively), corresponding to the low number of COVID‐19 cases.ConclusionThe detection rate of SARS‐CoV‐2 in wastewater samples from Bahrain was high and was significantly correlated with the number of reported COVID‐19 cases. Wastewater surveillance can aid the existing surveillance system in monitoring SARS‐CoV‐2 spread.