Previous reports have shown that the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), has been found in untreated wastewater. While the data is limited, there are no reported cases of a person becoming infected with the virus due to exposure to contaminated water.

Now, a team of researchers from Australia's national science agency, the CSIRO, and the University of Queensland have found genetic fragments of SARS-CoV-2 after testing aircraft and cruise ship wastewater once they reached their destinations.

Published in the Journal of Travel Medicine, the study highlights the importance of using wastewater as a means to determine if infected passengers are coming into a country via ship or airplane.

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New testing method for passengers

The researchers said testing the wastewater could be an additional data source for testing and managing passengers after disembarkation. The viral fragments are not infectious but may determine that there are infected people on board the ship or plane, which can narrow down the testing of passengers.

Many people infected with the coronavirus are asymptomatic, which means that they are unaware that they harbor the virus. Testing can help determine those who may be exposed and infected with the potentially deadly virus.

Valuable tool

Testing wastewater can be a valuable tool to determine if any of the passengers harbor the novel coronavirus, which may create another cluster of infections. The new test can determine if any of the incoming passengers are infected with the virus, who may transmit it to others.

The study

To arrive at their findings, the research team collected and tested airline and cruise ship wastewater samples for SARS-CoV-2 RNA using two virus concentration methods – the adsorption-extraction by electronegative membrane and ultrafiltration by Amicon. They also utilized give assays using reverse-transcriptase quantitative polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) and RT-droplet digital PCR.

The team has found SARS-CoV-2 RNA in samples from both aircraft and cruise ship wastewater.

Finding COVID-19 hotspots

Finding hotspots for COVID-19 can help protect the country's residents since many areas across the globe are now opening their borders. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, many countries have started lifting lockdown measures to save the economy and help people go back to work. With this, air and sea travel will also commence.

Health experts say that it is vital to determine COVID-19 hotspots, which pertain to areas or situations where the virus may rapidly spread. These include transport vehicles, including cruise ships and aircraft.

He added that determining the hotspots for virus spread will help keep all Australians safe as people start to travel again.