Undergraduate students Marina Boatman and Lauren Johansen position tubes and air filters to collect air samples that will be tested for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
(Photos by Rhett Butler)
Researchers at East Carolina University’s Brody School of Medicine have found a new way to detect the virus that causes COVID-19 by testing the air passing through building ventilation systems. The discovery could lead to earlier detection of the virus, improved quarantine protocols, reduced transmission and fewer outbreaks.
Dr. Sinan Sousan, an assistant professor in Brody’s Department of Public Health and Research Faculty at North Carolina Agromedicine Institute, and expert of environmental and occupational airborne exposure, and Dr. Rachel Roper, a professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology with an extensive background studying coronaviruses, spearheaded the effort to learn whether SARS-CoV-2 could be detected through the heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems in student dorms.
Their research was recently published in The American Journal of Infection Control, and represents a breakthrough in the way the virus can be detected before an individual tests positive.
“I think it’s important because you want to know if someone in the building is infected, potentially contagious and infecting other people, so it’s a really important public health measure,” Roper said of the study, adding that this method could also be used to test for other airborne viruses and pathogens such as influenza.
Researchers collected samples from two large student dorms and an isolation suite housing students that had tested positive for COVID-19 several times per week for more than three months beginning in January 2021.
Sousan’s team collected a total of 248 air samples, testing four collection methods that deposited samples into small filters, saline solutions and cartridges that were then preserved and transported to Roper’s lab for RT-PCR analysis. The testing revealed the presence of SARS-COV-2 in the isolation suite air samples 100% of the time. In the dorms where students were not already in COVID-19 isolation, researchers were able to detect the virus in the air samples 75% of the time when students on the same floor later tested positive via nasal swab.
The trick to success was capturing air samples with virus that was concentrated enough to be detected, and maintaining the virus’s stability within the samples to get it back to lab with intact RNA for the PCR analysis, Roper said.
Similarly to testing a building’s wastewater, implementing building air sampling on a broader scale could allow for earlier detection of the virus, particularly in shared spaces.
“Detection in air provides advance notice of potential exposures in specific locations within a building,” said Mike Van Scott, interim vice chancellor for ECU’s Division of Research, Economic Development and Engagement. “It was fortuitous that SARS-CoV-2 could be detected in wastewater, but the next respiratory virus that we encounter may not be as stable, and detection in air would allow us to respond quickly.”
The research was funded by university COVID-19 relief funds, and completed with assistance research specialist Ming Fan and former undergraduate students Kathryn Outlaw and Sydney Williams. ECU Facilities Services staff also assisted, drilling holes into the HVAC units and ductwork of three student dormitories and provided building access, allowing the researchers to collect samples.
Original Article: ECU researchers discover new way to detect coronavirus through building ventilation systems
More from: East Carolina University
The Latest Updates from Bing News & Google News
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Building air sampling
- 11 dreamy international destinations less than a 5-hour flight from Calgary
But where can you go without embarking on a marathon journey?Calgary, one of Western Canada's top air travel hubs, promises a variety of incredible international destinations within a five-hour flight ...
- Revelations of possible radioactive dumping around the Bay Area trigger new testing at parks
A former chemical plant dumped thousands of tons of industrial waste around the San Francisco Bay Area. The deposits were made in places that are now open to the public — and could contain radioactive ...
- USDA, FDA turf battles hamper responses to outbreaks like H5N1 bird flu
With an outbreak of the H5N1 bird flu spreading among dairy cattle, experts say the longtime fractured nature of the U.S. food regulation system could hamper the federal response.
- New Kid on the Block Milieu Fermentation Is Wise Beyond Its Years
Owners Andrew Bergeron and Rob Bessett both worked for Ursula Brewing before taking over its space and debuting their own concept.
- Tierra Whack’s Multi-Hyphenated, Multi-Dimensional Authenticity
Yet, Whack still manages to bring some of her past humor to tracks like the cheeky opening of “INVITATION” (“I’m just not like a fan, more like air conditioner ... in her lyrics while building a world ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Building air sampling
[google_news title=”” keyword=”building air sampling” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]
Go deeper with Bing News on:
Virus detection in the airirus detection in the air
- Scientists find indoor air pollution causes respiratory viruses to 'linger longer': 'This study represents a huge breakthrough in our understanding'
"We knew SARS-CoV-2, like other viruses, spreads through the air we breathe. But this study represents a huge breakthrough in our understanding of exactly how and why that happens, and crucially, what ...
- US relaxes regulations for labs handling bird flu samples to ease virus response
U.S. government officials have temporarily relaxed strict guidelines on how public health laboratories and healthcare facilities handle, store and transport H5N1 bird flu samples, which are considered ...
- Bird flu pandemic fears surge as H5N1 virus detected in California and Texas wastewater
Fears of a bird flu pandemic have rocketed after scientists found high levels of the H5N1 avian flu virus in wastewater across Texas and California.Texan experts tested wastewater samples in 10 cities ...
- Rapid and Real-time Assays for Detection and Quantification of Chikungunya Virus
Future Virology. 2008;3(2):179-192. Although not listed as a hemorrhagic fever virus, illness caused by CHIKV can be confused with diseases such as dengue or yellow fever, based on the similarity ...
- The best antivirus software 2024: Free and paid options
The best antivirus software helps protect your Windows computers and the data stored on them against malware and other online threats. While Microsoft’s own Windows Defender may be good enough ...
Go deeper with Google Headlines on:
Virus detection in the air
[google_news title=”” keyword=”virus detection in the air” num_posts=”5″ blurb_length=”0″ show_thumb=”left”]