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Credit: Photo courtesy Louisville/Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District.
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville has received $8.6 million from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to back research that could help health departments use wastewater to monitor the rate of COVID-19 infection.
UofL researchers already are testing wastewater to determine whether coronavirus infection exists in different neighborhoods around Jefferson County. This new work goes one step further, with the goal of estimating how many people within those neighborhoods are infected. If virus levels are high in the wastewater, it may be a signal of widespread infection in the community.
University of Louisville receives $8.6 million for COVID-19 wastewater research
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UofL researchers already are testing wastewater to determine whether coronavirus infection exists in different neighborhoods around Jefferson County, Kentucky. A new $8.6 million grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) will allow the work to go one step further, with the goal of estimating how many people within those neighborhoods are infected.
Troy R. Henderson Sr., Louisville/Jefferson County Metropolitan Sewer District water quality engineer, obtains a wastewater sample in Jefferson County, Ky. Photo courtesy MSD.
“The aim of the project is to figure out whether we can estimate how many people in a given area are infected by simply testing the community wastewater,” said Ted Smith, associate professor of medicine and a lead on the wastewater epidemiology project.
Christy Brown looks back on the past year after being Kentucky s seventh coronavirus patient. Author: Doug Proffitt Updated: 5:52 PM EST March 5, 2021
LOUISVILLE, Ky. One of Kentucky s first COVID-19 patients is looking back on her diagnosis as the state nears one year since the pandemic began.
Christy Brown, one of the city s best known philanthropists, was the seventh COVID-19 patient in the state. On March 7, Brown attended the Speed Art Museum Ball with other notable Kentuckians. Immediately after, she said she was in bad shape. I felt fine [before], Brown said. I really didn t have any physical problems until the Sunday afterwards.
A joint project testing wastewater at Mayfieldâs treatment facility could highlight future COVID-19 spikes in the community before symptoms can even develop in local residents.
The Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and University of Louisville Co-Immunity Project have partnered with the Graves County Health Department, Mayfield Electric and Water Systems, and Murray State University to provide an early warning system to help health officials prepare for potential coronavirus outbreaks in the community.
â(It) gives health officials and policymakers the information they need to focus additional testing and treatment where there are specific outbreaks, thus helping avoid the need for more county-wide or statewide shutdowns,â Ben Chandler, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, said in a news release from the Foundation. âWastewater testing can help more of us get back to normal more quickly by identifying where outbreaks are most prevalent over
Mayfield Ky. wastewater testing project helps pin point community COVID-19 outbreaks Dr. Bikram Subedi extracts the virus from wastewater in his chemistry lab at Murray State University. (Source: Co-immunity Project) By Ashley Smith | December 30, 2020 at 2:14 PM CST - Updated December 30 at 2:14 PM
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (KFVS) - A Mayfield wastewater testing project is helping pinpoint community outbreaks of COVID-19 before residents experience symptoms.
The project could allow for more targeted measures to prevent spread of the disease.
The project is a partnership between Graves County Health Department, Mayfield Electric and Water Systems, Murray State University (MSU) and the University of Louisville Co-Immunity Project, and the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky.