Wastewater-based monitoring of illicit drugs in Cyprus by UPLC-MS/MS: The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The outbreak and spread of COVID-19 impacted through various ways the lives of millions of humans globally. In this work, wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) was applied to investigate the effect of the actions taken by the Republic of Cyprus to confine COVID-19 on the use of illicit stimulant drugs. Daily influent samples were collected from the six main wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of the country i) before lockdown (3-9 April 2019), ii) during lockdown (21-27 April 2020), iii) during the post-lockdown period (14-20 July 2020), and, iv) during each season of the following year (20-26 April 2021, 19-25 July 2021, 11-17 October 2021, 25 December 2021-2 January 2022), and analyzed for amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine. In most areas, amphetamine and methamphetamine use was not affected during the confinement period, but as availability of the substances decreased with time, a drop in their use was observed when most restriction measures were eased (up to 9- and 22-fold decrease, respectively). The limitations on social interactions and events during the quarantine period seem to have led to the reduction of MDMA and cocaine and driven a sharp decrease of their use in most areas studied (up to 11 and 6 times lower, respectively). However, the re-opening of activities led to a pronounced consumption increase, reaching maximum daily values of 800 and 2691 mg/1000 inhabitants/day, respectively. In 2021, drug use was re-established to lower levels. The examination of weekly patterns during this year revealed higher weekend use of methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine. Our results suggest that both the implementation and the easing of COVID-19 related measures affected the availability and the use of drugs. This study also provides the first insight on the consumption of illicit drugs in the Republic of Cyprus during pre-, post- and pandemic times and demonstrates the importance of WBE.

Psichoudaki M ，Mina T ，Savvidou M ，Mina C ，Michael C ，Fatta-Kassinos D ... -  《-》

Substance use during the COVID-19 pandemic: What is really happening?

Mellos E ，Paparrigopoulos T 《-》

Use of illicit drugs, alcohol and tobacco in Spain and Portugal during the COVID-19 crisis in 2020 as measured by wastewater-based epidemiology.

The COVID-19 pandemic spread rapidly worldwide in the year 2020, which was initially restrained by drastic mobility restrictions. In this work, we investigated the use of illicit drugs (amphetamine, methamphetamine, ecstasy, cocaine and cannabis), and licit substances of abuse (alcohol and tobacco) during the earlier months (March-July 2020) of the pandemic restrictions in four Spanish (Bilbao and its metropolitan area, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Castellón and Santiago de Compostela) and two Portuguese (Porto and Vila do Conde) locations by wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). The results show that no methamphetamine was detected in any of the locations monitored, while amphetamine use was only detectable in the two locations from the Basque Country (Bilbao and its metropolitan area and Vitoria-Gasteiz), with high estimated average usage rates (700-930 mg day-1 1000 inhabitant-1). The remaining substances were detected in all the investigated catchment areas. In general, no remarkable changes were found in population normalized loads compared to former years, except for cocaine (i.e. its main metabolite, benzoylecgonine). For this drug, a notable decrease in use was discernible in Castellón, while its usage in Porto and Santiago de Compostela seemed to continue in a rising trend, already initiated in former years. Furthermore, two events of ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, MDMA) dumping in the sewage network were confirmed by enantiomeric analysis, one in Santiago de Compostela just prior the lockdown and the second one in the Bilbao and its metropolitan area in July after relieving the more stringent measures. The latter could also be associated with a police intervention. The comparison of WBE with (web) survey data, which do not provide information at a local level, points towards contradictory conclusions for some of the substances, thereby highlighting the need for stable WBE networks capable of near real-time monitoring drug use.

Estévez-Danta A ，Bijlsma L ，Capela R ，Cela R ，Celma A ，Hernández F ，Lertxundi U ，Matias J ，Montes R ，Orive G ，Prieto A ，Santos MM ，Rodil R ，Quintana JB ... -  《-》

Assessing daily patterns in stimulant use during the COVID-19 pandemic in Melbourne, Australia using wastewater analysis.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, one of Australia's biggest cities, Melbourne, experienced three major isolation ("lockdown") periods in 2020 (160 days) and in 2021 (111 days) which makes it one of the most locked down cities world-wide. This study assessed how the pandemic affected temporal trends in methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine consumption using wastewater-based epidemiology. Daily samples were collected for most of 2020 and 2021 (n = 660 days). Concentrations were measured using direct-injection LC-MS/MS and back-calculated to consumption estimates. Results indicate that methamphetamine use was increasing before the first lockdown and decreased after the end of the first lockdown in 2020. Methamphetamine trends appeared to have remained steady throughout the second lockdown period before increasing steeply after it ended. For most of 2020, cocaine use remained steady, with an increase after the second lockdown. MDMA use decreased after the start of the first lockdown and remained steady throughout most of 2020 and 2021. In comparison to 2020, trends in 2021 were less variable and stimulant use did not appear to be as associated with COVID-19 restrictions. Overall, this study was able to show the impact of lockdown periods and the related social restrictions on illicit stimulant use. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPLICATION: Illicit drugs are hazardous chemicals, of concern both to humans and the environment. While studies have been undertaken to understand their temporal trends, this work utilizes wastewater-based epidemiology and daily sampling to provide a comprehensive understanding of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the use of methamphetamine, MDMA and cocaine on one of the most locked-down cities in the world. Understanding the consequences of this significant intervention on illicit drug use could provide valuable insights into its potential environmental impact.

Chen S ，Bade R ，Tscharke B ，Hall W ，Thai P ，He C ，Ahmed F ，Zheng Q ，Choi PM ，O'Brien JW ，Mueller JF ... -  《-》

Long-term monitoring of drug consumption patterns during the COVID-19 pandemic in a small-sized community in Brazil through wastewater-based epidemiology.

The abuse of legal and illegal drugs is a global public health problem, also affecting the social and economic well-being of the population. Thus, there is a significant interest in monitoring drug consumption. Relevant epidemiological information on lifestyle habits can be obtained from the chemical analysis of urban wastewater. In this work, passive sampling using polar organic chemical integrative samplers (POCIS) was used to quantify licit and illicit drugs biomarkers in wastewater for the application of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE). In this WBE study, a small urban community of approximately 1179 inhabitants was monitored from 18 March 2020 to 3 March 2021, covering the mobility restriction and flexibilization periods of the COVID-19 pandemic in Brazil. Consumption was estimated for amphetamine, caffeine, cocaine, MDMA, methamphetamine, nicotine, and THC. The highest estimated consumption among illicit drugs was for THC (2369 ± 1037 mg day-1 1000 inh-1) followed by cocaine (353 ± 192 mg day-1 1000 inh-1). There was a negative correlation between consumption of caffeine, cocaine, MDMA, nicotine, and THC with human mobility, expressed by cellular phone mobility reports (P-value = 0.0094, 0.0019, 0.0080, 0.0009, and 0.0133, respectively). Our study is the first long-term drug consumption evaluation during the COVID-19 pandemic, with continuous sampling for almost a whole year. The observed reduction in consumption of both licit and illicit drugs is probably associated with stay-at-home orders and reduced access, which can be due to the closure of commercial facilities during some time of the evaluated period, smaller drug supply, and reduced income of the population due to the shutdown of companies and unemployment. The assay described in this study can be used as a complementary and cost-effective tool to the long-term monitoring of drug use biomarkers in wastewater, a relevant epidemiological strategy currently limited to short collection times.

Hahn RZ ，Bastiani MF ，Lizot LLF ，Schneider A ，da Silva Moreira IC ，Meireles YF ，Viana MF ，do Nascimento CA ，Linden R ... -  《-》