Bergen County, which has been hit hardest by the coronavirus since New Jersey’s first case, is testing the county’s sewers for Covid-19, expecting a potential two weeks before it hits, officials said.
At a press conference Friday, Bergen County executive Jim Tedesco announced that the partnership with global engineering company, Columbia University, Bergen County Utilities Authority and ICOM hopes to test and clean up its wastewater for county COVID-19. Statewide.
“Global and United States studies have shown that this type of monitoring can be an early indication of a two-week increase or decrease in covid cases in an area,” Tedesco said.
The test, previously used in colleges and universities such as Columbia University and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, is expected to erupt 10 days to two weeks early, Tedesco said. Testing is one of the few weapons available to combat coronavirus outbreaks and has been used to test for viruses and outbreaks around the world.
Since March, at least 670 samples have been taken from Bergen County sewage, Tedesco said.
The test looks for genetic material in the sewage that shows someone is infected, experts previously told NJ Advance Media. Humans secrete viral RNA into their feces when they become infected. Public health officials around the world typically use wastewater testing by testing at water purification plants.
This test involves detecting viral RNA in the stool before a person is a therapist. Detectives allow officers to take up a potential case if the person considers taking the test before, NJIT’s director of environmental health and safety Michelle Gere previously told NJ Advance. Media.
Preliminary investigations enable officers to proceed with any outrage. After traces of Covid-19’s genetic material were found in a dorm gutter at NJIT in September, 300 students were quarantined and the college was able to anticipate an outbreak.
The university had been collecting samples since the beginning of the semester, but the September 16 exam was the first time the coronavirus was at detectable levels.
Columbia University began taking and testing wastewater samples in several of its bedrooms in early September, the university reported. Virus analysis is performed in a lab at the university which has the capacity to process up to 100 samples in a day.
Results were available within 24 to 48 hours, according to the university.
The Bergen County Utilities Authority sewer, which was sampled, serves about 47 municipalities in the county, representing about 580,000 residents, said Bergen County Administrator Julian Nells. The test project, which began in March, showed a lead time of two to three weeks, he said.
“For many years, wastewater studies have been conducted to determine the presence of diseases,” Niels said. “These include things like io peoid concentrations, norovirus, measles and now the presence of covid-19.”
“It provides a clear picture of the overall community health in addition to the fraction of the population being tested,” Niels said. “It also includes people who show no symptoms.”
In Bergen County, which has 31,006 cases of Covid-19 second in New Jersey as of Friday, TedSCO said, it is hoped that testing will predict an outbreak in the county below a certain municipality.
He said the two vaccines promise, the county could use the same wastewater test to determine the effectiveness of the vaccine.
Karthik said a team from Matthew Columbia University is taking dirty water samples from places around Bergen County, including the Bergen County Utilities Authority’s Little Ferry Treatment Plant, Edge Water Treatment Plant, several pump stations and health facilities. Chandran Chandran, a professor of environmental engineering who led the test in Bergen County.
Chandran said the team has been taking samples several times a week since joining the effort.
Chandra said the team uses a pump device called a pump toss osmopler that can be programmed to collect samples at a specific frequency. The system temperature is controlled to keep the samples at 4 િય C, he said. After a period of 24 hours, the samples are taken by Ecom to a lab at Columbia University across the Hudson River.
There, the samples are analyzed using the CDC protocol, Chandra said.
“We get a picture of the whole community, rather than just the individuals testing, about testing for covid and any pathogens in the dirty water,” said Chandra. “It gives us a more complete picture. A complete picture. “
“The picture really leads to a real infection, so that we can get information and give ourselves valuable time to take corrective action before the entire community becomes infected,” he said.
In addition, he said, the data obtained from wastewater testing can be compressed in specific locations, such as buildings supplied by specific pipelines, he said.
“This is one of the best data sets available today,” said Chandra. “Not just in the United States but potentially around the world.”
Tedesco said the hope is to expand wastewater testing in New Jersey, including the Pacific Valley Sewerage Commission and the Northwest Bergen County Utilities Authority, so that the second wave in the state will continue to hit. Tedesco hopes the government will help expand the Phil Murphy test nationwide, he said.
The test has been funded by the National Science Foundation, but will be funded by redirecting to the CARES Act, Tedesco said. Other institutions, including Rowan University, are currently considering the implementation of wastewater testing at their facilities.
“The information we get is real solid information in terms of what’s going on at the moment,” Tedesco said. “We can really get in there right now and start taking corrective action immediately without testing people.”
Thank you for trusting us to provide journalism that you can trust. Please consider supporting NJ.com With a voluntary subscription.
Rodrigo Torres on can be reached [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter rodrigotorrejon.
