# Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater

> **NIH NIH R21** · TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA · 2020 · $89,989

## Abstract

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), member of the Coronavirus family, has
recently emerged from Wuhan, China. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced an official name of the
disease [coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)] and classified it as a global pandemic. Though the virus is
primarily spread through person-to-person contact and causes respiratory tract illnesses; some recent studies
have suggested the possibility for fecal-oral transmission and detected the RNA virus in the feces of infected
individuals, even after respiratory symptoms have subsided. A recent study confirmed that the virus is also
capable of infecting human gut enterocytes (Lamers et al., 2020). However, the potential transmission of SARS-
CoV-2 via wastewater is currently unknown. Therefore, the proposed study here will facilitate a better
understanding of persistence and disinfection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. First, we will use laboratory-
controlled studies examining the survivability of the virus in wastewater. We will spike the SARS-CoV-2 in
wastewater and monitor infectivity over time. Second, we will use chlorine disinfectants to determine the
inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater. Last, we will conduct a field survey to investigate the fate of the virus
in wastewater treatment systems from different locales. The proposed work will provide information to state and
federal regulatory agencies that can be used to develop guidance for prevention of COVID-19. The project will
also aid in evaluation and development of best disinfection approaches and quantitative microbial risk
assessment (QMRA). The findings will be invaluable to water resource recovery facilities for better management
against potential exposure risk and ensuring worker health and safety.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10159715
- **Project number:** 1R21AI157434-01
- **Recipient organization:** TULANE UNIVERSITY OF LOUISIANA
- **Principal Investigator:** Samendra P Sherchan
- **Activity code:** R21 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2020
- **Award amount:** $89,989
- **Award type:** 1
- **Project period:** 2020-08-01 → 2022-03-03

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10159715

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10159715, Persistence of SARS-CoV-2 in Wastewater (1R21AI157434-01). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-25 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10159715. Licensed CC0.

---

*[NIH grants dataset](/datasets/nih-grants) · CC0 1.0*