RSV and Influenza A and B Results. We began emailing results for RSV, influenza A, and influenza B last week. This will be in a separate email from the COVID data and will contain an excel sheet attachment. We will add plots for visualization soon. The OHA dashboard will also post the data this fall.

Changes to sampling. In response to movement towards a more sustainable funding model, we have begun collecting and analyzing only one sample per week for each of the participating locations. In the past about half of the utilities were collecting two or more samples per week.        

Webinar. There is a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) Immune, Infectious, and Dermal Disease Prevention webinar on October 19, 2023 from 9-10:30 am Pacific Time entitled:  Occupational Risks to Infectious Agents Among Wastewater Workers: Prevention, Challenges, and Research Opportunities. 

  • "The adoption of wastewater-based surveillance during the COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an increased recognition of biosafety risks faced by wastewater professionals.  At the same time, there is also a perception among some of practical limitations on the implementation and adherence to biosafety practices by wastewater workers.  This webinar will discuss the exposure risks, perceived limitations, appropriate biosafety practices, and creating a culture of safety for wastewater professionals."  The free webinar is listed here: University of Notre Dame NSF Research Coordination Network
  • ZoomGov link https://cdc.zoomgov.com/j/1601348343?pwd=YXdNcHowa3FXcTl4bFJvek9ZT2RLUT09 
  • Meeting ID: 160 134 8343     Passcode: IID1019!

Article. Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, we investigated the degree of infection throughout several Oregon cities (Bend, Corvallis, Eugene, Hermiston, Newport, and Redmond) by sampling multiple locations in the sewershed. At the same time as the sewershed sampling, OSU TRACE performed nasal sampling at randomly selected residences in the city allowing an estimate of COVID-19 prevalence. The wastewater viral concentrations were well correlated to prevalence in each city. The study concluded that “ WBE [wastewater-based epidemiology] methodologies can identify neighborhood COVID-19 hotspots and accurately profile the SARS-CoV-2 variant diversity present in a city or neighborhood. Considering that prevalence, hotspot identification, and variant compositions can be determined from a single to relatively few wastewater samples, compared with the hundreds or thousands of clinical samples required for traditional surveillance techniques, WBE has clear advantages in terms of cost.”  The article can be accessed here: https://ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP10289?url_ver=Z39.88-2003&rfr_id=ori:rid:crossref.org&rfr_dat=cr_pub%20%200pubmed