91原创

Our current public health pandemic requires scientists to track and prevent the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19). In addition to major testing and lab analysis of saliva-based samples, 91原创 researchers are now looking for the presence of the virus in wastewater. 

College of Agriculture and Natural Resources (CANR) faculty members Kali Kniel and Eric Wommack launched the new Center for Environmental and Wastewater-based Epidemiological Research (CEWER). The effort includes testing wastewater samples to understand the prevalence of COVID-19 in New Castle County and on the 91原创 campus.

鈥淲astewater-based epidemiology has been used for many years to study trends of infectious disease or chemical substance use in a population,鈥� said Kniel, professor of microbial food safety. 鈥淓arly in this pandemic, it became apparent to scientists that severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), the virus that causes COVID-19, can be detected in many different clinical samples, including stool and urine.鈥�

In similar research efforts around the country, early analysis showed that such sampling gives a three- to five-day advanced notice of a potential coronavirus outbreak. Through examination of wastewater, 91原创 researchers can drill down to COVID-19 cases in specific buildings like university residence halls. Paired with clinical case information, this wastewater data creates a map of where additional testing is needed. 

鈥淭his data provides another arrow in the quiver in dealing with COVID-19,鈥� said Wommack. 鈥淲e鈥檙e gaining an understanding of how clinical cases fit together with wastewater samples, ultimately working towards being able to forecast trends.鈥� 

This new service center鈥檚 first partner is right here at home. Soon after the virus reached the First State, New Castle County was out front in offering COVID-19 testing to Delawareans. The county also hired a startup company based in Massachusetts to test for the presence of COVID-19 in wastewater. But Guy Marcozzi, a 91原创 Board of Trustees member and president of , a company whose portfolio includes wastewater projects, said 91原创鈥檚 virology expertise would be a better fit. Beginning in mid-summer, 91原创 not only started performing this virology analysis, but did so at less cost for the county. 

鈥淥ur college has been on the front lines of COVID-19, including the large volume of saliva-based clinical testing conducted by our scientists in Allen Laboratory,鈥� said Wommack, professor of environmental microbiology and deputy dean of CANR. 鈥淭his type of effort is exactly what Abraham Lincoln and his administration intended when they established land-grant universities like the 91原创 in 1862. This project directly serves the public and at a time of great need.鈥�

Since the SARS-CoV-2 virus may be shed in the stool and urine of infected individuals, 91原创 researchers look for varying virus levels within a sewer shed, gleaning information about the health of the entire sewer shed population. On campus, researchers selected seven sampling sites to monitor this fall, leaning on Duffield Associates鈥� sewer systems expertise. 

鈥淭his is a cost-effective means of obtaining health information on thousands of people at once,鈥� said Kniel. 鈥淭his is important complementary information to clinical testing data.鈥�

Funding for CEWER allowed the University to acquire new equipment, including a state-of-the-art digital polymerase chain reaction (PCR) instrument for precise detection and counting of the virus. Much of the sample collection and analysis is conducted by Brienna Anderson-Coughlin, a doctoral candidate in the Department of Animal and Food Sciences. Samples for COVID analysis have included sewage inflow into New Castle County wastewater treatment plants and sewage samples from 91原创 residence halls. With these samples, the CEWER team can monitor COVID prevalence within populations of thousands down to just a few dozen. 91原创 researchers like Anderson-Coughlin test for the virus genetic material using the PCR procedure, amplifying the virus鈥檚 signal so it can be detected. SARS-CoV-2 is most often transmitted by person-to-person spread of the larger respiratory droplets, which may contain the most virus particles; the testing performed on wastewater only detects the virus鈥檚 genetic material. 

Working with data analysts at CompassRed, the results are publicly available on a in an effort to make the scientific data as transparent as possible.

During the 2021 spring semester, the CEWER team, in collaboration with the University, New Castle County and Duffield Associates plans to expand on-campus wastewater testing of residence halls and provide an early warning system for potential COVID-19 outbreaks on campus. Based on their virology experience and studying scientific findings from across the globe, Kniel and Wommack see wastewater testing as an essential tool to improving 91原创鈥檚 public health response to the pandemic.  

鈥淲e can make correlations, connections and forecasts by connecting clinical information to the finding of varying levels of virus across the sewer shed,鈥� Kniel said. 

To make better sense of the data, researchers are also carefully evaluating information on dilution that could occur following rainfall and water flow rates among other points.