Review of Procedures and Challenges Associated with an Epidemiological Surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater

COVID-19 patients, including asymptomatic, pre-symptomatic and mild cases, were frequently seen to contain in feces and urine samples particles of SARS-CoV-2. Hence, studies to detect the new coronavirus in residual water, which gather and concentrate excrements, have been useful as a viral screening tool. This type of monitoring, in addition to have a great potential to serve as a non-invasive early warning tool of possible outbreaks of COVID-19, would provide better predictions about the propagation of SARS-CoV-2 and contribute to the maintenance of public health. From a literature review based on articles indexed in the main scientific databases, it was evident that, although current viral detection procedures in wastewater are considered as reliable and effective, they have been facing major challenges in relation to the SARS-CoV-2 monitoring. In this review article, it was described the procedures used to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater, usually through RT-qPCR methods, and the challenges associated with the epidemiological surveillance of the new coronavirus in this environment, especially in the stages of sampling, preservation, sample processing, interpretation and experimental validation, in addition to the management and dissemination of the monitoring data.