Accelerating wastewater-based SARS-CoV-2 surveillance using a mobile laboratory in mixed infrastructure regions.

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) is a powerful tool for early infectious disease detection, but its effectiveness depends on rapid sample processing to prevent RNA degradation and maximize detection lead time for public health responses. To address delays and logistical constraints in regions with limited laboratory infrastructure, we deployed a mobile laboratory to enable on-site, near-real-time sample processing and analysis. Evaluation of this approach for on-site wastewater processing and RNA extraction showed a significant reduction in time-to-results compared to centralized laboratory workflows. A comparison of two RT-qPCR processes (a mobile system vs. a conventional instrument) revealed that while a concentration difference was observed between the two RT-qPCR platforms, the mobile system dramatically improved turnaround time without compromising detection capability, demonstrating the potential of decentralized WBE.