PDF(Pubmed)
Abstract：
This was the first longitudinal study to analyze dental clinic wastewater to estimate asymptomatic SARS-CoV-2 infection trends in children. We monitored wastewater over a 14-month period, spanning three major COVID-19 waves driven by the Alpha, Delta, and Omicron variants. Each Saturday, wastewater was sampled at the Pediatric Dental Clinic of the only dental hospital in Japan\'s Saitama Prefecture. The relationship between the weekly number of cases in Saitama Prefecture among residents aged < 10 years (exposure) and wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA detection (outcome) was examined. The number of cases was significantly associated with wastewater SARS-CoV-2 RNA positivity (risk ratio, 5.36; 95% confidence interval, 1.72-16.67; Fisher\'s exact test, p = 0.0005). A sample from Week 8 of 2022 harbored the Omicron variant. Compared to sporadic individual testing, this approach allows continuous population-level surveillance, which is less affected by healthcare seeking and test availability. Since wastewater from pediatric dental clinics originates from the oral cavities of asymptomatic children, such testing can provide important information regarding asymptomatic COVID-19 in children, complementing clinical pediatric data.
摘要：
这是第一个分析牙科诊所废水以估计儿童无症状SARS-CoV-2感染趋势的纵向研究。我们监测了14个月的废水，跨越由阿尔法驱动的三个主要的COVID-19波，Delta,和Omicron变体。每个星期六,在日本Sa玉县唯一一家牙科医院的儿科牙科诊所采样废水。研究了Sa玉县年龄<10岁（暴露）的每周病例数与废水SARS-CoV-2RNA检测（结果）之间的关系。病例数与废水SARS-CoV-2RNA阳性显着相关（风险比，5.36；95%置信区间，1.72-16.67；费希尔精确检验，p=0.0005)。2022年第8周的样本包含Omicron变体。与零星的个体测试相比，这种方法允许持续的人口水平监测，受医疗保健寻求和测试可用性的影响较小。由于儿科牙科诊所的废水来自无症状儿童的口腔，这种检测可以提供关于儿童无症状COVID-19的重要信息，补充临床儿科数据。
