Environmental, Water Resources, and Coastal Engineering Seminar Series

Virtual seminar link: https://ncsu.zoom.us/j/96156963811?pwd=QVRwSmlRZ1lqWm1xL0JVcG9RWC9Zdz09

Abstract: SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals shed the virus in stool. Therefore, analyzing municipal wastewater is an emerging strategy to track SARS-CoV-2 infections at the community level. We measured SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations in primary solids from the Raleigh wastewater treatment plant, which serves approximately 500,000 people, during the COVID-19 pandemic. SARS-CoV-2 RNA was detectable in all solids samples analyzed using direct RNA extraction followed by reverse transcriptase droplet digital PCR targeting two regions of the virus nucleocapsid gene (N1 and N2). SARS-CoV-2 N1 and N2 concentrations in primary solids correlated positively and significantly with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 case counts in the sewershed. Our data suggest that wastewater surveillance can be used to track COVID-19 infections at the community level.

Biography: Dr. Nadine Kotlarz is a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Biological Sciences at NC State University, and a member of NC State’s Center for Human Health and the Environment. Dr. Kotlarz received her PhD in Environmental Engineering in 2017 from University of Michigan. Her work lies at the interface of engineering and public health, with a focus on characterizing microbial and chemical contaminants in engineered water systems, and communicating scientific results to the public. In April 2020, Dr. Kotlarz teamed up with Drs. Francis de los Reyes and Angela Harris to monitor for SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Raleigh wastewater, and to evaluate this strategy as a means of tracking COVID-19 infection trends at the community level.