The next time you flush the toilet, you may actually be doing your part to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Sounds crazy? It isn’t.
Researchers with Ontario Tech University’s Faculty of Science are working with Durham Region Health Department, Durham Region Works Department and other key partners to detect an anticipated second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The team will collect and test dozens of untreated sewage samples weekly from multiple water pollution control plants in Durham Region. They will check for traces of the virus and develop a model for predicting new cases for identifying new coronavirus hot spots in the area. The tracked information will be shared with Durham Region Health Department officials to help determine appropriate steps to limit or prevent further infection in the community.
The capacity for targeted wastewater sampling near local long-term care homes, for instance, means there will be an early warning system in place for vulnerable populations. The sampling protocol and models will be made available for use by other communities across Canada.
The innovative made-in-Durham solution includes external financial support, including:
- $90,000 from Mitacs, a non-profit national research organization that works with academic institutions to meet business challenges with innovative research solutions.
- $50,000 from the Ontario Clean Water Agency
- $30,000 from Cole Engineering Group Ltd.
- Major in-kind contributions from Durham Region
COVID-19 can spread rapidly. Many COVID patients are asymptomatic, so individuals may transmit the disease before it is detected. The development of state-of-the-art tools for early detection of viruses in wastewater can indicate the severity of infection in a community, mitigating and reducing infection spread.
The research
Ontario Tech University biological science expert Dr. Andrea Kirkwood (part of Canadian Water Network’s COVID-19 Wastewater Coalition) will lead the sample testing with her Faculty of Science research colleagues Dr. Denina Simmons (Canada Research Chair in Aquatic Biology) and chemistry expert Dr. Jean-Paul Desaulniers. After initial tests in Dr. Kirkwood’s lab, Dr. Desaulniers’ lab will measure and quantify viral DNA. Dr. Simmons will look at pharmaceutical and metabolite indicators, and any biomarkers connected to COVID-19 disease symptoms. Ontario Tech mathematician Dr. Greg Lewis and computer scientists on the team will contribute to the predictive mathematical modelling.
Project benefits
- Wastewater epidemiological monitoring will provide reliable data for potential infections within a certain area, and in some cases up to five days before residents start to show symptoms of infection.
- These tools have the potential to protect public health and provide significant near-term and long-term economic savings.
- Predictive models could serve as a basis for a proactive regional, provincial, or national response plans to mitigate the spread of infectious diseases, including a resurgence of COVID-19 or other viruses.
Other collaborators on the analytical techniques and predictive model development:
- Irene Xagoraraki, Michigan State University, East Lansing, Michigan
- CDM Smith, Chicago, Illinois
- Great Lakes Water Authority, Detroit, Michigan
