Lab Matters Fall 2023 | Page 44

APHL 2023 POSTER ABSTRACTS

a wider range of PFAS and test other matrices , such as food or soil . On this poster you can learn how our method development is progressing .

Presenter : John Fennessey , john . fennessey @ state . co . us

PFAS Primer : What is PFAS ? Where are They ? How Do We Test Samples for PFAS Contamination in a Public Health Lab ?

T . Astill ; PerkinElmer

PFAS compounds are a group of man-made chemicals that have been used in a wide variety of industries around the world since the 1950s . This class of chemicals are incredibly stable so they are persistent and accumulate in the environment . Growing health concerns regarding PFASs and their prevalence in consumer goods and the environment indicate a critical need to monitor levels of PFAS in the environment . Understanding how to test for this contaminant is a critical health topic . In this poster , analytical workflows will be presented that Public Health Labs can leverage to quickly implement this testing capability in their lab .

Presenter : Toby Astill , toby . astill @ perkinelmer . com

Pilot Program of Tennessee Department of Health - Private Well Water and Emergency Response Test Kit Program

K . Dunaway , P . Leathers ; Tennessee Department of Health Laboratory Services

The Tennessee Department of Health ( TDOH ) has developed a new method to conduct quality assessments of private water supply by providing water test kits by mail . The TDOH Division of Laboratory Services , in partnership with TDH Communicable and Environmental Diseases and Emergency Preparedness ( CEDEP ) Waterborne Program , began this initiative in the late summer 2022 . This initiative has two goals : to help screen well and spring water quality for citizens in Tennessee and to act as quickly as possible in response to a large scale natural or manmade disaster . This program will provide a service to Tennesseans who may not be using a municipal water supply due to cost or lack of availability . Residents that use a private water supply and are near areas with agricultural runoff , manufacturing , and natural deposits of contaminants of concern may be at risk of consuming harmful chemicals or pathogens . The lack of well water testing regulations in the state means that citizens may not know if their well or spring is contaminated , and the water quality may not meet the safe drinking water standards afforded to those with municipal , public water supply . During natural disaster response , TDOH ’ s goal is to be able to staff disaster resource centers with testing supplies and provide water safety resources more efficiently . This small-scale pilot is currently funded by the CDC Environmental Health Capacity ( EHC ) program . This is being facilitated through the use of premade kits which the lab can provide to local health departments , picked up at TDOH Laboratory Services or shipped directly to residents at no cost . The grant nearly funds the cost of testing by providing the funds for the kits ( coolers , bottles , bags ), the tests performed and the shipping . Currently there is a small cost to the resident of providing ice to maintain shipping requirements of the collected water sample . This grant will be a multi-phase project with additional outreach to rural , minority or socioeconomically disadvantaged communities . As data is collected , the TDOH will be able to plot water quality results and determine if remediation efforts are needed . Lastly , use the data to help inform law makers on legislation for well and spring regulation to promote the health of the citizens of the State of Tennessee .

Presenter : Patrick Leathers , patrick . leathers @ tn . gov

BIOMONITORING AND CHEMICAL THREATS

Genomic Surveillance to Monitor and Identify Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variants in University Populations in Milwaukee , Wisconsin

A . Bauer , M . Khubbar , S . Scott , J . Lentz , J . Weiner , K . Akinyemi , A . Skillman , N . Balakrishnan and S . Bhattacharyya , City of Milwaukee Health Department

Introduction : Milwaukee Health Department Laboratory ( MHDL ) has been partnering with two local universities ’ student health clinics since March 2020 to provide testing and surveillance of the student and staff populations for SARS-CoV-2 . In-person learning , on-campus housing and sporting events create the potential for rapid transmission of emerging variants of SARS-CoV-2 . Due to the national and international populations on these campuses and their locations in downtown Milwaukee , there were concerns with the spreading of novel SARS-CoV-2 variants . MHDL began sequencing specimens from these two universities to identify variants and help prevent the spread of disease into the broader community . Methods : RNA extracts from clinical specimens positive for SARS-CoV-2 using FDA EUA assays were sequenced . Whole genome sequencing ( WGS ) was performed on the Clear Labs ( Clear DxTM WGS SARS-CoV-2 ) platform , as well as utilizing the ARTIC network workflow on MinION ( Oxford Nanopore Technologies ) and / or MiSeq ( Illumina ). Specimens that were successfully sequenced in accordance with in-house QC metrics were uploaded to GISAID , the open-source global repository for the SARS-CoV-2 genome . Results : From September 2020 to December 2021 , SARS-CoV-2 genomic surveillance was conducted on a total of 2,141 specimens at the Milwaukee Health Department Laboratory ( MHDL ). Of 2,098 specimens submitted to GISAID , 322 ( 15.3 %) were from the two university campuses located within the MHDL jurisdiction and the remaining 1,827 ( 84.7 %) were from the broader community . Of 322 specimens sequenced from universities , 53.7 % were the Delta variant , 8.4 % Alpha , 3.4 % Epsilon , 2.2 % Omicron and 32.3 % were other lineages , including Zeta , Eta , Iota and Mu . Omicron was detected in community sequencing 12 days prior to first university detection , indicating that spread was potentially from community to university rather than the other way around . Conclusions : Due to existing partnerships with the two local universities , MHDL was able to quickly implement genomic surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 . University policies of weekly COVID-19 testing for unvaccinated students and staff members ensured adequate surveillance samples for WGS . MHDL surveillance efforts assisted in the identification of outbreak clusters on campus and helped the universities monitor and track suspected cases . Sequencing