Important Covid-19 Early Warning Wastewater-based Epidemiology Webinar January 12, 2022

REGISTER FOR THE WEBINAR HERE

Extensive research has shown that people begin shedding the SARS-CoV-2 virus in their stools almost immediately after becoming infected. The virus's genetic material makes its way into the vast wastewater collection network, where it can be detected and quantified up to a week before individuals test positive in clinics, using modern sampling and analysis techniques. Public health administrators can use this early warning characteristic to control the spread better and prevent further damage by analyzing virus concentrations in specific facilities such as nursing homes and college dorms and selected neighborhoods or entire communities. This tested wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) approach depends on installing properly designed sewage surveillance systems in the study areas. In this webinar, Teledyne ISCO's Business Development Manager, Kaushal Trivedi, and Aquasight's CEO, Mahesh Lunani, discuss how to quickly develop and deploy a community-based underground sewage surveillance program for COVID-19 outbreak detection, including best practices for wastewater sampling, lab analysis, and the immediate delivery of actionable information to local public health officials and administrators. 

Covid-19 Early Warning Wastewater-based Epidemiology Webinar Topics

• Wastewater sampling site selection
• Sampling instruments - selection and installation
• Sample optimization and SCADA control
• Sample preservation and transport
• Lab testing and minimum detection levels
• Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
• Predictive analytics and advanced decision support tools including rapid identification of hot spots and high-risk areas

From this 45-minute presentation plus interactive Q&A session, attendees will gain valuable insight into community-based sewage surveillance, how to rapidly set up and operate an effective monitoring and detection system, and ensure it is well integrated for optimum public health actionability.

For more information about Teledyne ISCO product in Florida, contact Instrument Specialities, Inc. Call 407-324-7800 or visit https://isisales.com.

Video Demonstrates Teledyne ISCO Automatic Sampler's Real-World Role in Detecting COVID-19 in Wastewater Systems

Researchers at UC Berkeley are using a simple and effective method for detecting the presence of the Coronavirus in wastewater flowing through municipal sewer systems. Water testing will assist public policymakers to determine where and how to implement COVID-19 prevention and treatment plans. 

Wastewater testing, also known as "wastewater quality indicators," is a broad term for the various test methodologies used to measure water quality. These tests investigate the physical, chemical, and biological properties of wastewater.  Wastewater naturally collects waste from hundreds to even millions of people in a single sample.  By drawing a representative sample of wastewater and analyzing it, you can gain a tremendous amount of information that you would likely not be able to achieve by testing people individually. 

The amount of viral matter in wastewater from a community could reveal the prevalence of COVID-19 in the population. This information can trigger the necessary mitigation initiatives and response plans, such as individual testing, contract tracking, and quarantine. It also allows for collecting data on a cross-section of the population, allowing for the monitoring of public health solutions for large groups. However, it is challenging to detect tiny virus particles in the wastewater that flows through our sewage pipes, considering it includes toilet water and sink water, shower water, and everything else that goes down the drain. Teledyne ISCO is leading the way in the use of automatic samplers for gathering wastewater to identify virus evidence in sewage.

Teledyne ISCO is a leading manufacturer and supplier of rugged, dependable field-portable instruments for water quality monitoring.  Their automatic sampler readings analyze the characteristics and presence of the Coronavirus in parts per million quantities, which, when compared to population numbers in a geographic area, aids in determining the presence and amount of virus in the wastewater. 

The above-referenced UC Berkeley videos provide a real-life example of how the Teledyne ISCO water sampler collects wastewater for COVID-19 analysis. In this video, samples are gathered from their University Village and sewers draining from UC Berkeley's undergraduate dormitories and surrounding neighborhoods.

The full video link is here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FwsRUw4y_dU.

The full article outlining UC Berkeley's initiative is here.

For more information about Teledyne ISCO samplers used for Covid detection in Florida, contact Instrument Specialties, Inc. Call 407-324-7800 or visit https://isisales.com.

Your Local Teledyne ISCO Representative is Ready to Assist with Applying Portable Samplers

Portable samplers enable water quality monitoring in a variety of remote locations. However, determining the right equipment and optimum configuration for the site can be a challenge. An asset you can reliably turn to is your local Teledyne ISCO Representative. They are your local source for new products, proper application, product obsolescence, and replacement. Also, because these experts have access to so many different types of applications and situations, your local Teledyne ISCO Representative is a wealth of tacit knowledge that they readily share with their customers. 

For example, more and more municipalities are testing their wastewater for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) uses Teledyne ISCO portable samplers to track COVID-19 in wastewater collection systems, proving helpful in controlling the pandemic. The use of sewage pathogen monitoring in wastewater treatment facilities as a public health surveillance tool is now a reality. Municipalities have at their disposal portable and refrigerated samplers ready for widespread collection and testing. Your ISCO Representative is prepared to outline the best ways to use this equipment as part of your overall Coronavirus strategy in any type of environment or testing situation. 

Teledyne ISCO Representatives can assist you in applying portable samplers in these challenging situations:

• Sites with low flow
• Deep vertical sampling
• Fast flow, solids, ragging, and other challenging conditions
• Special considerations for wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE)
• Tracking COVID-19 in wastewater to help control the epidemic
• Sample preservation, cooling, and battery life
• Selecting the proper sampler for the location

It makes sense to develop a close relationship with these factory-trained, technical sales experts for water treatment professionals. They will help you gain better insight into the most commonly encountered problems in portable sampling applications and how to handle them. 

In Florida, contact Instrument Specialties, Inc. Their phone number is 407-324-7800. You can also learn more at https://isisales.com.

Schools and Universities Turn to Portable Wastewater Samplers for Coronavirus Outbreak Tracking

Wastewater testing, or "wastewater quality indicators," are broad descriptions for the various testing methodologies used to measure water quality.  Wastewater testing analyzes the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of wastewater, which now includes the novel virus, SARS-CoV-2, which is the virus that causes Covid-19. 

SARS-CoV-2 is known to invade the gastrointestinal tract and, consequently, is extracted in human sold waste. The recently demonstrated ability to reliably identify and measure COVID-19 genetic material in untreated wastewater is one of the most exciting advances in Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE).

As schools and universities work to arrest the spread of Covid-19 and care for those infected, some university campuses use wastewater testing as a possible method for identifying and predicting outbreaks of Covid-19 in their facilities. This advance has put a powerful new tool in the hands of those trying to defeat the virus, giving schools the ability to detect potential outbreaks weeks earlier than conventional population monitoring.

Schools using wastewater-based epidemiology methods have shown the potential to detect COVID-19 in wastewater samples well in advance of an outbreak compared to individual students' testing. The information discovered by WBE can then be a trigger for the required mitigation initiatives and response plans by schools and universities, such as testing individuals, contact tracing, and quarantine.

Teledyne ISCO is paving the way with the use of portable refrigerated samplers to identify hot spots. The portable analyzer takes daily aliquots at sensitive locations to determine the characteristics and presence of the Coronavirus in parts per million quantities. By assessing the presence of SARS-CoV-2, researchers can predict COVID-19 flareups through a "Virus Radar" system.

Teledyne ISCO offers two popular portable samplers used on schools and campuses today: the portable Avalanche with powered refrigeration that is perfect for genetic material preservation and the Glacier with its 12-volt deep-cycle battery 48 + hours of unpowered refrigerated composite sampling.

Wastewater-based epidemiology efforts, using wastewater testing or wastewater quality indicators that incorporate these kinds of sampling instruments, are valuable in keeping schools open and keeping students safe.

For more information about Teledyne ISCO portable samplers in Florida, contact Instrument Specialties. Call them now at 407-324-7800  or visit their website at https://isisales.com.

Coronavirus is Proving We Need an Early Warning System to Test Wastewater

Wastewater testing, or “wastewater quality indicators” are broad descriptions for the various test methodologies to measure water quality.  These tests analyze the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of wastewater.

As countries and individual healthcare organizations work to arrest the spread of Covid-19 and to care for those who are infected, officials in some geographic locations are using wastewater testing as a possible method for identifying levels of Covid-19 in their communities.  The testing goal is to detect evidence of the Covid-19 genetic material, ribonucleic acid (RNA), in fecal matter in sewage and wastewater.

The novel virus, SARS-CoV-2, is the virus that causes Covid-19. It is known to invade the GI (gastrointestinal) track in some patients, and so the virus is extracted in their fecal matter. 

Looking at the amount of viral matter in waste water from a community could uncover the level of Covid-19 spread in the population.  This information can then be a trigger for the required mitigation initiatives and response plans, such as testing individuals, contract tracking, and quarantine. It also allows for information to be gathered on a cross section of the population, allowing for a way to monitor public health solutions for large groups.  

Scientists from around the world are setting up pilot programs to test waste water.  The Netherlands has successfully performed a Covid-19 test for waste water and additional programs are launching in Singapore, Zurich, Lausanne,  Milan, Rome, Australia, and in parts of the US, such as Colorado, Ohio, New York, and Wyoming.  Scientists in these regions have been able to identify the novel Coronavirus at low concentrations in waste water, pointing to an early warning systems for communities.  

In April, 2020, the scientific journal, Nature, listed that over a dozen groups around the globe were doing research analyzing waste water for Covid-19, and that evidence of the virus was already found in the United States, the Netherlands, and Sweden.

Teledyne ISCO is paving the way with use of water samplers in the effort to identify the virus evidence in sewage.   Their automatic sampler readings analyze the characteristics and presence of the Coronavirus in parts per million quantities and can be laid against the population numbers of a geographic area to ascertain the existence and amount of virus existing in the waste water. 

For more information about the use of Teledyne ISCO water samplers for SARS-CoV-2 monitoring in wastewater contact Instrument Specialties, Inc. Call them at 407-324-7800 or visit their website at https://isisales.com.