Evaluation of Trends in Influenza A and B Viruses in Wastewater and Human Surveillance Data: Insights from the 2022–2023 Season in Italy

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a recognized, dynamic approach to monitoring the transmission of pathogens in communities through urban wastewater. This study aimed to detect and quantify influenza A and B viruses in Italian wastewater during the 2022-2023 season (October 2022 to April 2023). A total of 298 wastewater samples were collected from 67 wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) across the country. These samples were analyzed for influenza A and B viruses (IAV, IBV) using primers originally developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for real-time PCR and adapted for digital PCR. The overall detection rates of IAV and IBV across the entire study period were 19.1% and 16.8%, respectively. The prevalence of IAV in wastewater showed a gradual increase from October to December 2022, peaking at 61% in December. In contrast, IBV peaked at 36% in February 2023. This temporal discrepancy in peak concentrations suggests different seasonal patterns for the two influenza types. These trends mirrored human surveillance data, which showed influenza A cases peaking at 46% in late December and declining to around 2% by April 2023, and influenza B cases starting to increase significantly in January 2023 and peaking at about 14% in March. IAV concentrations ranged from 9.80 × 10<sup>2</sup> to 1.94 × 10<sup>5</sup> g.c./L, while IBV concentrations ranged from 1.07 × 10<sup>3</sup> to 1.43 × 10<sup>4</sup> g.c./L. Overall, the environmental data were consistent with the human surveillance trends observed during the study period in the country. These results demonstrate the value of WBE in tracking epidemiological patterns and highlight its potential as a complementary tool to infectious diseases surveillance systems.

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Journal
Food and Environmental Virology
Published
2024-12-07
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s12560-024-09622-2
Citations
11
Primary Topic
SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
4.28

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article

Evaluation of Trends in Influenza A and B Viruses in Wastewater and Human Surveillance Data: Insights from the 2022–2023 Season in Italy

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SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
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article

Evaluation of Trends in Influenza A and B Viruses in Wastewater and Human Surveillance Data: Insights from the 2022–2023 Season in Italy

Fabio Tramuto, Desdemona Oliva, Osvalda De Giglio, Mariaconcetta Arizzi, Ileana Federigi, Alessandro Bianchi, Fabio Filippetti, Giuseppina La Rosa, David Brandtner, Marcella Guiso, Antonia Voli, Irene Amoruso, Antonella Cersini, Simona De Grazia, Francesca Gucciardi, Chiara Filizzolo, Carmen Montanaro, Lorena Masieri, Gian María Rossolini, Carmelo Massimo Maida, Danilo Cereda, Bartolomeo Griglio, Francesca Cutrupi, Laura De Lellis, Giuseppa Purpari, Alberta Stenico, Alessandra Tosco, Simona Puzelli, Maurizio Viscardi, Vicdalia Aniela Acciari, V. Prímache, Carla Ancona, Andrea Muratore, Nehludoff Albano, Sara Briscolini, Silvia Magi, Mauro Ruffier, S. Binda, Antonella Agodi, Eric Grange, Carolina Veneri, Claudio Ottaviano, Clementina Cocuzza, Onofrio Mongelli, Flavia Guarneri, Anna Giammanco, Margherita Ferrante, Emanuela Ammoni, Irene Ferrante, Elisabetta Carraro, Silvia Schiarea, Francesco Triggiano, Giusy Bonanno Ferraro, Rosa Anna Cifarelli, Cristina Pignata, Barbara Bertasi, Ermanno Federici, Walter Mazzucco, Giuseppina Di Mario, Piergiuseppe Calà, Luigi Bolognini, Amalia Porta, Paola Foladori, Francesca Pennino, Paola Stefanelli, Maria Teresa Scicluna, Marta Bellisomi, Giovanni Loris Alborali, Marco Verani, M. Iaconelli, Silvia Bonetta, Angela Costa, Martina Barchitta, Mattia Postinghel, Nicoletta Formenti, Elena Nicosia, Alberto Izzotti, Lucia Decastelli, Mariangela Mininni, Salvatore Macrì, Luca Lucentini, Maya Petricciuolo, Gabriele Pietrella, Angelo D’Argenzio, Silvia Scattolini, Matteo Ramazzotti, Monica Monfrinotti, Annalisa Lombardi, Maria Teresa Montagna, Gisella Pitter, Marika Mariuz, Lisa Richiardi, Maria Cadonna, Pamela Mancini, Achille Palma, Tatjana Baldovin, Sara Castiglioni, Elena Grasselli, Laura Pellegrinelli, Alessandra Barca, Giovanna Fusco, Annalaura Carducci, Andrea Franzetti, Florida Damasco, Luigi Cossentino, Vanessa Groppi, Stefano Rosatto, Giovanna La Vecchia, Nadia Fontani, Giuseppe Folino, Irene Tomesani, Anna Pariani, Daniele Nasci, Paolo Torlontano, Annalisa Grucci, Giorgia Bulotta, Marco Zampini, Dossena Matteo, Morelli Marco, Paola Angelini, Elisabetta Suffredini, Francesca Apollonio, Agnese Carnevali, Flavia Serio, Angela Ciccaglione, Giuseppe Lauria, D. E. Lea, Michele Colitti, Francesca Russo, Giuseppe Di Vittorio, Marzia Facchini, Franco Rigoli, Edoardo Malacaria, Gabriella Trani, Lisa Gentili, Mario Palermo, Adelaide Calabria, Doriana Antonella Giorgi, Marta Paniccià, Marco Guercio, Acea Elabori
article en
11 citations

Abstract

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a recognized, dynamic approach to monitoring the transmission of pathogens in communities through urban wastewater. This study aimed to detect and quantify influenza A and B viruses in Italian wastewater during the 2022-2023 season (October 2022 to April 2023). A total of 298 wastewater samples were collected from 67 wastewater treatment plants (WTPs) across the country. These samples were analyzed for influenza A and B viruses (IAV, IBV) using primers originally developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for real-time PCR and adapted for digital PCR. The overall detection rates of IAV and IBV across the entire study period were 19.1% and 16.8%, respectively. The prevalence of IAV in wastewater showed a gradual increase from October to December 2022, peaking at 61% in December. In contrast, IBV peaked at 36% in February 2023. This temporal discrepancy in peak concentrations suggests different seasonal patterns for the two influenza types. These trends mirrored human surveillance data, which showed influenza A cases peaking at 46% in late December and declining to around 2% by April 2023, and influenza B cases starting to increase significantly in January 2023 and peaking at about 14% in March. IAV concentrations ranged from 9.80 × 10<sup>2</sup> to 1.94 × 10<sup>5</sup> g.c./L, while IBV concentrations ranged from 1.07 × 10<sup>3</sup> to 1.43 × 10<sup>4</sup> g.c./L. Overall, the environmental data were consistent with the human surveillance trends observed during the study period in the country. These results demonstrate the value of WBE in tracking epidemiological patterns and highlight its potential as a complementary tool to infectious diseases surveillance systems.

Food and Environmental VirologyVol. 17(1)
Istituto Superiore di Sanità (IT)
Ministero della Salute
Clean water and sanitation
Openalex Percentile: Top 5%
SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing
4.28
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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