Associating COVID-19 related hospitalizations and SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater in The Netherlands
The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has been a public health emergency of global concern since its outbreak in 2019/2020. In order to monitor the spatial and temporal patterns of SARS-CoV-2 transmission, public health authorities and universities have established a variety of dashboards worldwide, tracking the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases, hospital admissions, and other epidemiological indicators. Wastewater surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 is used as additional indicator serving as an early warning for (re-)emergence of SARS-CoV-2 circulation in communities (Amer et al., NN). Previous research associating SARS-CoV-2 wastewater RNA with reported positive COVID-19 cases in The Netherlands showed that SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentration data has added value for public health, serving as an early warning indicator to COVID-19 virus intensity and consequently allowing for targeted and sub-national scale recommendations for preventive measures (Hassan, 2021). Building on this work, this MSc research shall investigate whether wastewater data also serves as a predictor for COVID-19 related hospitalizations and thus, resource allocation to COVID-19 and non-COVID-19 patients, supporting improved preparedness of healthcare facilities.
To assess the added value of the SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance data in relation to hospitalization data collected in the Netherlands across space and time. To investigate whether wastewater data serves as a predictor for COVID-19 related hospitalizations. To identify evidence-based recommendations to inform improved preparedness of healthcare facilities. Spatio-temporal analysis of publicly available secondary data on reported positive COVID-19 cases, hospitalizations and and wastewater SARS-CoV-2 concentrations, time series mapping at multiple geographic scales, descriptive statistics, bivariate correlation and cross-correlation analysis.
Amer, S., Anthonj, C., Hassan, O.A., NN. Spatial and temporal analysis of SARS-CoV-2 concentration in wastewater in The Netherlands. Manuscript for the International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health, currently under preparation.
Baas, S., Dijkstra, S., Braaksma, A., van Rooij, P., Snijders, F.J., Tiemessen, L., Boucherie, R.J., 2021. Real-time forecasting of COVID-19 bed occupancy in wards and Intensive Care Units. Health Care Management Science 24, 402–419.
Hassan, O.A., 2021. Spatial and temporal analysis of SARS Coronavirus-2 concentration in wastewater and its association with health indicators in the Netherlands. Msc thesis Geo-Information Science and Earth Observation. ITC at University of Twente, Enschede, The Netherlands.
Huang, C., Wang, Y., Li, X. et al., 2020. Clinical features of patients infected with 2019 novel coronavirus in Wuhan, China. The Lancet 395 (10223), 497–506.