COVID-19 in Boise Sewage Anticipates Hospitalizations and Deaths by 1-2 Weeks
Additional Funding Sources
The project described was supported by the Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Program through the U.S. Department of Education under Award No. P217A170273. The project described was supported by a subgrant from the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare through the Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Enhancing Detection Through Coronavirus Response and Relief (CRR) Supplemental Funds (Grant 6 NU50CK000544-02) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the Department or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Hampikian Lab at Boise State University, 07.15.22.
Abstract
COVID-19 virus concentration in Boise sewage predicts rises in clinical cases, hospitalizations and deaths. This is done through wastewater-based epidemiology, which provides a convenient and rapid method of testing pooled samples from over 200,000 residents. Wastewater viral counts prepare health care services for spikes in cases. COVID-19 continues to be a major health concern as it undergoes mutations, resulting in new variants that have produced several spikes in COVID-19 cases over the past two years. Spikes can cause care shortages in testing, treatment and hospitalization. Wastewater testing (unlike patient testing) can detect asymptomatic infections and symptomatic non-testing individuals, leading to improved tracking of viral spread (Layton et al, 2021). Wastewater counting is done primarily by extracting and measuring the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the wastewater. In this project, two local wastewater treatment facilities were tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA on a tri-weekly basis. Wastewater viral counts mirror trends in Idaho case counts and provide a significant lead time ahead of changes in hospitalization rates. Early results indicate that spikes of SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in wastewater occur 1-2 weeks before spikes in COVID-19 related hospitalizations. This study demonstrates why wastewater-based epidemiology is an effective tool for tracking the COVID-19 pandemic and can be used to improve public health responses to future outbreaks.
COVID-19 in Boise Sewage Anticipates Hospitalizations and Deaths by 1-2 Weeks
COVID-19 virus concentration in Boise sewage predicts rises in clinical cases, hospitalizations and deaths. This is done through wastewater-based epidemiology, which provides a convenient and rapid method of testing pooled samples from over 200,000 residents. Wastewater viral counts prepare health care services for spikes in cases. COVID-19 continues to be a major health concern as it undergoes mutations, resulting in new variants that have produced several spikes in COVID-19 cases over the past two years. Spikes can cause care shortages in testing, treatment and hospitalization. Wastewater testing (unlike patient testing) can detect asymptomatic infections and symptomatic non-testing individuals, leading to improved tracking of viral spread (Layton et al, 2021). Wastewater counting is done primarily by extracting and measuring the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in the wastewater. In this project, two local wastewater treatment facilities were tested for SARS-CoV-2 RNA on a tri-weekly basis. Wastewater viral counts mirror trends in Idaho case counts and provide a significant lead time ahead of changes in hospitalization rates. Early results indicate that spikes of SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in wastewater occur 1-2 weeks before spikes in COVID-19 related hospitalizations. This study demonstrates why wastewater-based epidemiology is an effective tool for tracking the COVID-19 pandemic and can be used to improve public health responses to future outbreaks.