Posted By: News Editor
January 28, 2021
Levi Brandenburg
lbrandenburg@murraystate.edu
A wastewater testing project for Mayfield, Kentucky, is helping to track and identify potential COVID-19 outbreaks before the infected even begin showing symptoms.
The project started in November and is a partnership between the Graves County Health Department, Murray State, Mayfield Electric and Water Systems, the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky and the University of Louisville Co-Immunity Project.
The process begins in Mayfield, where the wastewater samples are collected by Mayfield Electric and Water Systems at their wastewater treatment facilities. From there, it is sent to Bikram Subedi, assistant professor of analytical chemistry, and Gary Zeruth, associate professor of cellular and molecular biology, for testing.
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