April 27, 2020 | 3:00 PM EST
The Water Research Foundation (WRF) is proud to host a groundbreaking Virtual International Water Research Summit on Environmental Surveillance of COVID-19 Indicators in Sewersheds. The summit will address several technical issues to further advance the work researchers are performing throughout the world, including:
- Location, timing, and procedures for collecting and preserving samples of wastewater
- Approaches for identifying the concentration of indicators of COVID-19 in wastewater samples
- Relationship between concentrations of COVID-19 indicators and the presence and progress of COVID-19 cases in the community, including the severity of disease and length of time since the initial infection
- Sensitivity of analytical results as an indicator of changes in community prevalence of COVID-19
Through shared expertise, knowledge of industry standards and best practices, and lessons learned from first-hand experiences, summit participants will develop and present a coordinated, near-term research roadmap that addresses critical areas in which additional research is needed. Following the summit, WRF will join with funding partners to quickly address the research gaps identified by summit participants.
During the Opening Session, scientific and water sector experts will provide a snapshot of the current state of knowledge on wastewater sampling, molecular genetics tools, the use of indicator concentrations to estimate disease prevalence, and how to communicate this information to stakeholders.