Wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in Wisconsin

Café des sciences webinar

This first collaborative Café des sciences webinar is organized by the Office for Science and Technology of the Consulate General of France in Chicago in collaboration with UW-Madison, the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene, and the Wisconsin Dept of Health Services.

Title: “Wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in Wisconsin

Time: Tuesday March 22, 2022 from 05:00 to 06:00 PM (CST)

Free registration Ticket: https://www.eventbrite.com/o/service-pour-la-science-et-la-technologie-chicago-34438945843

Pre-download Zoom: zoom.us

Speakers:

Dr. Adélaïde Roguet is an environmental microbiologist at the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, UW-Madison. (LinkedIn)

Matthew Schinwald is a Surveillance System Epidemiologist working at the Wisconsin Department of Health Services. (LinkedIn)

Abstract:

SARS-CoV-2, the viral agent of COVID-19, poses challenges to clinical surveillance systems due to its long incubation time and the large number of infected, either symptomatic or asymptomatic individuals. Clinical surveillance systems are also challenged by the cost and the scale of efforts required to test a sufficient portion of the population. In addition, access to testing is limited for those in rural areas. Wastewater-based epidemiology overcomes many of these challenges by testing integrative wastewater samples representative of the entire communities served by municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Since September 2020, the Wisconsin State Lab of Hygiene (WSLH), in collaboration with academic partners at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS), built and implemented a statewide wastewater surveillance network for SARS-CoV-2. In this presentation, scientists from the WSLH and DHS will describe establishing and using wastewater surveillance network within Wisconsin to monitor SARS-CoV-2 and the role of this new capability in the public health toolbox.

Poster

 

In the news

COVID-19 in Wisconsin on FOX6 News Milwaukee (December 23, 2020):

Dashboards

Intractive, live updated dashboard: COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance in Wisconsin

Example Dashboard

The dashboard is also integrated within the  Wisconsin Dept of Health Services “wastewater” page with more detailed explanations.