The consumption of alcohol in a population is usually monitored through individual questionnaires, forensics, and toxicological data. However, consumption estimates have some biases, mainly due to the accumulation of alcohol stocks. This study's objective was to assess alcohol consumption in Slovakia during the COVID-19 pandemic-related lockdown using wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). Samples of municipal wastewater were collected from three Slovak cities during the lockdown and during a successive period with lifted restrictions in 2020. The study included about 14% of the Slovak population. The urinary alcohol biomarker, ethyl sulfate (EtS), was analyzed by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). EtS concentrations were used to estimate the per capita alcohol consumption in each city. The average alcohol consumption in the selected cities in 2020 ranged between 2.1 and 327 L/day/1000 inhabitants and increased during days with weaker restrictions. WBE can provide timely information on alcohol consumption at the community level, complementing epidemiology-based monitoring techniques (e.g., population surveys and sales statistics).

• Klíčová slova
• COVID-19, alcohol, liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry, lockdown, urban wastewater,
• MeSH
• chromatografie kapalinová metody   MeSH
• COVID-19 * epidemiologie   MeSH
• epidemiologie odpadních vod * MeSH
• ethanol analýza   MeSH
• kontrola infekčních nemocí MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• pandemie MeSH
• pití alkoholu epidemiologie   MeSH
• tandemová hmotnostní spektrometrie metody   MeSH
• velkoměsta MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Slovenská republika epidemiologie   MeSH
• velkoměsta MeSH
• Názvy látek
• diethyl sulfate MeSH Prohlížeč
• ethanol MeSH

The virus SARS-CoV-2, which has caused the recent COVID-19 pandemic, may be present in the stools of COVID-19 patients. Therefore, we aimed to detect SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater for surveillance of SARS-CoV-2 in the population. Samples of untreated wastewater were collected from 33 wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of different sizes within the Czech Republic. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was concentrated from wastewater and viral RNA was determined using real-time reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR). SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detected in 11.6% of samples and more than 27.3% of WWTPs; in some of them, SARS-CoV-2 was detected repeatedly. Our preliminary results indicate that an epidemiology approach that focuses on the determination of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater could be suitable for SARS-CoV-2 surveillance in the population.

• Klíčová slova
• RT-qPCR, SARS-CoV-2, coronavirus, early warning system, epidemic, virus, wastewater, wastewater-based epidemiology,
• MeSH
• Betacoronavirus izolace a purifikace   MeSH
• COVID-19 MeSH
• feces virologie   MeSH
• koronavirové infekce epidemiologie   virologie   MeSH
• kvantitativní polymerázová řetězová reakce MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• odpadní voda virologie   MeSH
• pandemie MeSH
• RNA virová MeSH
• SARS-CoV-2 MeSH
• virová pneumonie epidemiologie   virologie   MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• práce podpořená grantem MeSH
• Geografické názvy
• Česká republika epidemiologie   MeSH
• Názvy látek
• odpadní voda MeSH
• RNA virová MeSH

More than 783 million people worldwide are currently without access to clean and safe water. Approximately 1 in 5 cases of mortality due to waterborne diseases involve children, and over 1.5 million cases of waterborne disease occur every year. In the developing world, this makes waterborne diseases the second highest cause of mortality. Such cases of waterborne disease are thought to be caused by poor sanitation, water infrastructure, public knowledge, and lack of suitable water monitoring systems. Conventional laboratory-based techniques are inadequate for effective on-site water quality monitoring purposes. This is due to their need for excessive equipment, operational complexity, lack of affordability, and long sample collection to data analysis times. In this review, we discuss the conventional techniques used in modern-day water quality testing. We discuss the future challenges of water quality testing in the developing world and how conventional techniques fall short of these challenges. Finally, we discuss the development of electrochemical biosensors and current research on the integration of these devices with microfluidic components to develop truly integrated, portable, simple to use and cost-effective devices for use by local environmental agencies, NGOs, and local communities in low-resource settings.

• Klíčová slova
• electrochemical biosensors, in-situ monitoring, low and middle-income countries (LMICs), low-resource settings, microbial pollution, point-of-care,
• MeSH
• biosenzitivní techniky metody   MeSH
• elektrochemické techniky metody   MeSH
• lidé MeSH
• mikrobiologie vody * MeSH
• Check Tag
• lidé MeSH
• Publikační typ
• časopisecké články MeSH
• přehledy MeSH