Detection of COVID-19 viral RNA in wastewater as a simple and sensitive method of outbreak detection in large populations

Description:
Since the arrival of COVID-19 in the United States in early 2020, the incidence of infections in the population has been monitored exclusively by testing individuals for the presence of the virus itself or its antibodies. Testing individuals across the nation represents a significant cost for providing test kits and medical personnel to perform tests. Furthermore, the published incidence figures are likely underestimated, hindering the identification and early detection of local outbreaks.
During recent months, monitoring wastewater for viral RNA has been proposed as a method of detecting local outbreaks and has been implemented in several municipalities. The advantages of this testing scheme are obvious:
• Monitoring large populations at high test frequency (e.g. daily)
• Eliminates reliance on individuals’ compliance
• No underestimation of incidence
• Reduces cost by establishing central testing points
Endress+Hauser offers instrumental solutions for the entire workflow of COVID-19 detection in wastewater. An automatic wastewater sampler from the Endress+Hauser Liquistation product line is used to collect samples in defined time intervals. Viral RNA is then extracted and enriched on a membrane filter, which can be performed on site, and the filter is submitted to a laboratory for PCR-detection.
Analytik Jena, the laboratory division of Endress+Hauser, offers equipment and reagents for the extraction and purification of viral RNA, the preparation of purified samples for PCR analysis, as well as PCR thermal cyclers for simultaneous processing and analysis of up to 384 samples. All equipment used is scalable from single-sample processing up to an ultra-high throughput of thousands of samples per day.
This complete solution offers municipalities and industrial sites a unique turnkey solution from a single vendor, covering the entire workflow from sampling to detection and evaluation, for the early detection of local viral outbreaks.

Speaker: Jessica Gantt - Analytik Jena US LLC
Jessica Gantt currently works as an Application Specialist at Analytik Jena. She graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemistry from Purdue University and has been involved in the Oil & Gas industry in various capacities, from the Endress+Hauser Optical Analysis team to the Chemical Analysis team at Analytik Jena. During this time, she has been able to collaborate with colleagues around the world pertaining to new customer solutions.