Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 associated with wastewater treatment: a seroprevalence study

The detection of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) during wastewater treatment leads to concerns about whether this process may represent a focal point for the transmission of COVID-19. An epidemiological analysis, based on a COVID-19 IgG/IgM Rapid Test Cassette, performed on 134 wastewater workers from 59 wastewater treatment plants from the province of Granada (Spain) showed a seroprevalence of 8.95% in IgG for SARS-CoV-2, which is similar to the incidence rate found for the general population of the province (9.6%; 95%CI = 7.2-12.8). These findings suggests that current safety measures are sufficient for the protection of workers against SARS-CoV-2.