RAPID: Determination of health risks and Status from SARS-CoV-2 Presence in Urban Water cycle
- Funded by National Science Foundation (NSF)
- Total publications:0 publications
Grant number: unknown
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Key facts
Disease
COVID-19Start & end year
20202021Known Financial Commitments (USD)
$123,706Funder
National Science Foundation (NSF)Principal Investigator
Ramesh GoelResearch Location
United States of AmericaLead Research Institution
University of UtahResearch Priority Alignment
N/A
Research Category
Pathogen: natural history, transmission and diagnostics
Research Subcategory
Environmental stability of pathogen
Special Interest Tags
N/A
Study Type
Non-Clinical
Clinical Trial Details
N/A
Broad Policy Alignment
Pending
Age Group
Not Applicable
Vulnerable Population
Not applicable
Occupations of Interest
Not applicable
Abstract
COVID-19 has impacted human health on a global scale. Understanding the spread of COVID-19 is thus an urgent national need. This project addresses this need focusing on the urban wastewater treatment system. Wastewater generated by wash water and toilets is known to carry human pathogens. Thus, municipal wastewater represents an important pathway for human exposure to viruses like SARS-CoV2 (the coronavirus that causes COVID-19). The goal of this project is to determine if wastewater obtained from different municipal wastewater treatment plants and sewer lines harbors SARS-CoV2. A secondary goal is to use this information to understand the exposure risk to wastewater treatment plant workers and track community COVID-19 infections. This will be achieved by testing whether SARS-CoV2 (or its genetic material) is present in municipal wastewater. This information will be combined with data on other water quality parameters to establish correlations between SARS-CoV2 and wastewater quality. Results will help understand the risk of exposure to SARS-CoV2 in wastewater treatment plant operators. In addition, the results from this project have potential to be used as a rapid measure to track hotspots of COVID-19 in the community.
COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV2 has become a global pandemic, resulting in over a quarter million fatalities worldwide. Although SARS-CoV2 has some similarity to the virus SARS-CoV1 (a well-studied coronavirus responsible for a severe respiratory disease outbreak earlier this century), we still lack information needed to understand the survival and infectivity of this pathogen in municipal wastewater infrastructure. Municipal wastewater generated in kitchens and restrooms is known to carry human viral pathogens, thus representing a potential exposure pathway for humans. The goal of this project is to develop efficient techniques to extract and monitor SARS-CoV2 in wastewater. The secondary goal of this research is to understand human health risks associated with the presence of SARS-CoV2 in municipal wastewater influent and treated effluent. This will be achieved through three broad tasks to: (1) select biomarkers and develop methods for rapid and efficient extraction and analysis of SARS-CoV2 in wastewater; (2) sample wastewater treatment plants and distribution systems to determine spatial and temporal spread; and (3) develop a risk prediction model for exposure to SARS-CoV2. This project will generate data that can be used to develop health risk models for municipal wastewater treatment plant operators. Results generated from this project also hold promise to help epidemiologists and other health professionals to understand and predict COVID-19 outbreaks in the community. This project will expand the diversity of the Nation?s STEM workforce through the education and training of a female graduate student. Broader impacts to society include the potential development of early warning tools to detect the spread of human pathogens such as COVID-19.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.
COVID-19 caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV2 has become a global pandemic, resulting in over a quarter million fatalities worldwide. Although SARS-CoV2 has some similarity to the virus SARS-CoV1 (a well-studied coronavirus responsible for a severe respiratory disease outbreak earlier this century), we still lack information needed to understand the survival and infectivity of this pathogen in municipal wastewater infrastructure. Municipal wastewater generated in kitchens and restrooms is known to carry human viral pathogens, thus representing a potential exposure pathway for humans. The goal of this project is to develop efficient techniques to extract and monitor SARS-CoV2 in wastewater. The secondary goal of this research is to understand human health risks associated with the presence of SARS-CoV2 in municipal wastewater influent and treated effluent. This will be achieved through three broad tasks to: (1) select biomarkers and develop methods for rapid and efficient extraction and analysis of SARS-CoV2 in wastewater; (2) sample wastewater treatment plants and distribution systems to determine spatial and temporal spread; and (3) develop a risk prediction model for exposure to SARS-CoV2. This project will generate data that can be used to develop health risk models for municipal wastewater treatment plant operators. Results generated from this project also hold promise to help epidemiologists and other health professionals to understand and predict COVID-19 outbreaks in the community. This project will expand the diversity of the Nation?s STEM workforce through the education and training of a female graduate student. Broader impacts to society include the potential development of early warning tools to detect the spread of human pathogens such as COVID-19.
This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.