Detection of SARS-CoV-2 variants in hospital wastewater in Peru, 2022.

Motivation for the study. To contribute to the surveillance of environmental samples from hospital effluents in order to achieve early warning of possible infectious disease outbreaks. Main findings. The Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus was detected in wastewater from hospitals in Puno, Cuzco and Cajamarca; these results are similar to the reports by the Peruvian National Institute of Health based on nasopharyngeal swab samples. Implications. The presence of the Omicron variant in hospital wastewater during the third wave of the pandemic should raise awareness of the treatment system before wastewater is discharged into the public sewer system.