Presenters: Samantha Tobin, College of Life Science, Biology
Authors: Jessica A. DiScala, Sheena Lee Luy, Keaton Andra, Steve Mares, Coryna Sulahria, Evandro Nunes, Violet Rose, Kristian J. Johnson
Faculty Advisor: Kristian Johnson, College of Life sciences, Biology
Institution: Dixie State University
The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated the importance of representative surveillance of communicable diseases. Tracing the incidence of active cases of COVID-19 is crucial for preventing further outbreaks and informing public health interventions; however, due to asymptomatic spread, limited testing, health disparities, and tourism, an accurate representation of the number of COVID-19 cases in a specific population is sometimes difficult to determine. Recent research has shown that SARS-CoV-2, the virus associated with COVID-19, is detectable in the feces of symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals.Therefore, wastewater-based epidemiology for SARS-CoV-2 is a useful method for determining levels of COVID-19 in small and transient populations where clinical testing is limited. In an ongoing study, 24-hour influent composite samples were collected weekly from several wastewater sites in Southern Utah. Filtration, RNA extraction, and quantification using RT-qPCR were used to determine the amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. Results suggest that wastewater surveillance is a viable method for evaluating trends in COVID-19 infections in regions that seek to find reliable methods of viral surveillance.