Implementation of a National Wastewater Surveillance System in France as a Tool to Support Public Authorities During the Covid Crisis: The Obepine Project
Résumé
The Obépine project (OBservatoire EPIdémiologique daNs les Eaux usées) has brought together research teams with a variety of skills (virology, mathematics, hydrology, infectiology) to evaluate the relevance of a quantification for SARS-CoV-2 genomes and its variants in wastewater, to provide a new element for monitoring the COVID-19 epidemic. We have demonstrated the relevance of this strategy, which aims at quantifying the viral genome at the entrance of wastewater treatment plants thanks to the use of sensitive, quantifiable, and reproducible molecular techniques associated with an original mathematical model. Obépine monitored up to 200 wastewater treatment plants, on a bi-weekly basis, in metropolitan and overseas France which corresponds to more than 33% of the French population. This article summarizes the key steps in the construction of the Obépine project.