Journal of Food Hygiene and Safety (한국식품위생안전성학회지)

The Korean Society of Food Hygiene and Safety (한국식품위생안전성학회)
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COVID-19 Surveillance using Wastewater-based Epidemiology in Ulsan

울산지역 하수기반역학을 이용한 코로나19 감시 연구

  • Gyeongnam Kim (Department of Infectious Disease Examination, Ulsan Research Institute of Public Health and Environment) ;
  • Jaesun Choi (Department of Infectious Disease Examination, Ulsan Research Institute of Public Health and Environment) ;
  • Yeon-Su Lee (Department of Infectious Disease Examination, Ulsan Research Institute of Public Health and Environment) ;
  • Dae-Kyo Kim (Department of Infectious Disease Examination, Ulsan Research Institute of Public Health and Environment) ;
  • Junyoung Park (Department of Infectious Disease Examination, Ulsan Research Institute of Public Health and Environment) ;
  • Young-Min Kim (Department of Infectious Disease Examination, Ulsan Research Institute of Public Health and Environment) ;
  • Youngsun Choi (Department of Infectious Disease Examination, Ulsan Research Institute of Public Health and Environment)
  • 김경남 (울산광역시보건환경연구원 감염병검사과) ;
  • 최재선 (울산광역시보건환경연구원 감염병검사과) ;
  • 이연수 (울산광역시보건환경연구원 감염병검사과) ;
  • 김대교 (울산광역시보건환경연구원 감염병검사과) ;
  • 박준영 (울산광역시보건환경연구원 감염병검사과) ;
  • 김영민 (울산광역시보건환경연구원 감염병검사과) ;
  • 최영선 (울산광역시보건환경연구원 감염병검사과)
  • Received : 2024.05.30
  • Accepted : 2024.06.14
  • Published : 2024.06.30
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Abstract

During the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, wastewater-based epidemiology was used for surveying infectious diseases. In this study, wastewater surveillance was employed to monitor COVID-19 outbreaks. Wastewater influent samples were collected from four sewage treatment plants in Ulsan (Gulhwa, Yongyeon, Nongso, and Bangeojin) between August 2022 and August 2023. The samples were concentrated using the polyethylene glycol-sodium chloride pretreatment method. Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) RNA was extracted and detected using real-time polymerase chain reaction. Next generation sequences was used to perform correlation analysis between SARS-CoV-2 concentrations and COVID-19 cases and for COVID-19 variant analysis. A strong correlation was observed between SARS-CoV-2 concentrations and COVID-19 cases (correlation coefficient, r = 0.914). The COVID-19 variant analysis results were similar to the clinical variant genomes of three epidemics during the study period. In conclusion, monitoring COVID-19 via analyzing wastewater facilitates early recognition and prediction of epidemics.

하수기반역학을 이용한 코로나19 감시 결과, 연구기간(2022년 8월-2023년 8월)동안 울산지역 4곳 하수처리장의 전체 174건 모든 시료에서 코로나바이러스-19가 검출되었다. 확진자 수와 하수 내 코로나바이러스 농도와의 상관분석 결과, 높은 상관성이 나타났으며 특히 하수감시가 임상감시보다 2-3주 앞서 농도가 증가함으로써 조기 인지의 가능성도 볼 수 있었다. 또한 코로나19 변이 분석 결과 역시 유행 시기별 우세종화된 변이와 비교적 유사하여 변이 예측도 가능하였다. 하수감시가 전국적, 전세계적으로 적용되고 있으며 많은 연구가 국가적 사업으로 진행되고 있다. 이에 따라, 하수 분석방법 및 분석기기 발전 등의 지속적 연구 업데이트가 필요하다. 또한 코로나19를 통해 감염병의 선제적 모니터링 및 유행 예측의 가능성을 확인하였으므로 다양한 병원체 및 식품·의약품 등에 확대 적용이 진행 중이다. 따라서 본 연구는 감염병 검출분야에서 더 나아가 하수 내 식품 성분, 활성물질 및 미생물 등의 분석을 통해 지역사회의 식품안전 및 전반적인 위생환경 감시를 위해 활용될 수 있을 것으로 기대된다.

Keywords

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