Wastewater Surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 in Athens, Georgia

Learn about groundbreaking wastewater surveillance research in this 25-minute conference presentation from the Georgia Water Resources Conference. Explore how researchers measured SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA concentrations in wastewater samples collected from Athens, Georgia during the COVID-19 pandemic. Discover the methodology of using reverse transcription quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) for direct extraction from unconcentrated wastewater samples, achieving approximately 35% viral recovery. Examine the correlation between flow-adjusted viral concentrations and reported COVID-19 cases, particularly during a major outbreak in September 2020. Understand how increases in wastewater viral concentrations preceded the disease outbreak by two weeks, demonstrating the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as an early warning system for disease surveillance and public health management.