A robotic platform uses a magnet to concentrate viral samples and extract viral RNA — genetic material that makes up certain viruses , including COVID-19 .
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If detected , COVID-positive samples trigger email notifications to the campus community , prompting individuals who used restrooms in the affected buildings to get tested . The data are also added to an online dashboard .
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The viral RNA goes through the polymerase chain reaction ( PCR ) process , where reagents of genetic material bind to any COVID-19 genes present in the sample .
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Fighting COVID-19 beneath the surface
BY HEATHER BUSCHMAN , PHD ’ 08 as possible . More than 650 people were tested for COVID-19 that weekend . As a result , two asymptomatic individuals were diagnosed and self-isolated before an outbreak could occur .
The program only grew from there . The team now monitors wastewater from 350 UC San Diego buildings daily . Along with notifications , results are available on a public dashboard , and positive samples are also sequenced to track the emergence of new coronavirus variants such as Delta and Omicron .
After months of optimizing the process , the team can detect even a single infected person living or working in a large building of more than 500 people . Notifying the occupants of buildings with positive wastewater has been seen to increase COVID-19 testing rates as much as 13-fold , and researchers say the approach has enabled early detection of 85 percent of COVID-19 cases on campus .
Wastewater screening is an integral part of UC San Diego ’ s Return to Learn program , the evidence-based approach that has allowed the university to offer on-campus housing as well as in-person classes and research opportunities throughout most of the pandemic . The program has kept the university ’ s COVID-19 case rates much lower than those of other college campuses , maintaining a positivity rate of less than 1 % throughout the 2020-2021 academic year .
“ Our wastewater screening program demonstrates how different parts of UC San Diego can work together to keep campus safe ,” says Knight , a professor of pediatrics and director of the Center for Microbiome Innovation . His team is now helping more universities , K-12 school districts and other organizations replicate their success with wastewater screening . Knight says the approach even has the potential to expand to other pathogens detectable in stool , such as flu .
Learn about COVID-19 detection , intervention and risk mitigation at : returntolearn . ucsd . edu
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