Xavier Jenkins
Pronouns: He/Him
Research Mentor(s): Kevin Bakker
Co-Presenter:
Research Mentor School/College/Department: Epidemiology / Public Health
Presentation Date: April 20
Presentation Type: Poster
Session: Session 5 – 3:40pm – 4:30 pm
Room: League Ballroom
Authors: Xavier Jenkins, Michelle Ammerman, Jinyi Cai, Gina Kittleson, Krista Wigginton, Kevin Bakker
Presenter: 11
Abstract
As the COVID-19 pandemic worsened and it became clear many individuals were asymptomatic. This rise in asymptomatic cases meant that a better method for widespread detection of COVID-19 within a community was needed. One method to understand community burden of disease is to analyze community wastewater to detect SARS-COV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) gene copies. This method allows for efficient data gathering in a community. Each week, our research team analyzes samples collected from one of our five wastewater treatment plant partners to detect and quantify SARS-CoV-2 gene copies, an indicator of COIVD-19 spread. In addition, our team has been placing cylindrical automatic autosamplers into manholes across the University of Michigan campus. This process extracts wastewater every 30 minutes for several hours without any human interaction. All samples are analyzed weekly, and the resulting data is immediately shared with our stakeholders, which include the University of Michigan, four local health departments, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, and the Ann Arbor Public School system. All results are visualized via a dashboard and are publicly available. Detection of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater can provide an early warning for an increase in community transmission or arrival of a new variant. The elimination of individual testing allows for a targeted response to COVID-19, especially when resources for other preventative measures are low. As the pandemic continues, wastewater based epidemiology will continue to identify spikes in COVID-19 transmission at different societal levels. With the infrastructure in place, future outbreaks of COVID-19 or other pathogens could utilize these approaches to best detect and control the spread of the disease.
Interdisciplinary
