Lee BE, Sikora C, Faulder D, Risling E, Little LA, Qiu Y, Gao T, Bulat R, Craik S, Hrudey SE, Ohinmaa A, Estabrooks C, Gingras AC, Charlton C, Kim J, Wood H, Robinson A, Kanji JN, Zelyas N, O’Brien SF, Drews S, Pang XL. Early Warning and Rapid Public Health Response to Prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care facilities (LTCF) by Monitoring SARS-CoV-2 RNA in LTCF site-specific Sewage Samples and Assessment of Antibodies Response in this Population – Prospective Study Protocol. BMJ Open August 20 2021;11(8):e052282. doi : 10.1136/bmjopen-2021-052282.
The results and/or conclusions contained in the research do not necessarily reflect the views of all CITF members.
Published recently in BMJ Open, researchers Drs. Xiao-Li Pang, Bonita Lee and Christopher Sikora outline their CITF-funded study protocol for monitoring COVID-19 immunity using two very different channels: sewage and blood. The first arm of their study makes use of site-specific sewage sampling strategies that will enable early detection of SARS-CoV-2 outbreaks in long-term care facilities. A cost-benefit analysis will determine whether such strategies will preserve valuable healthcare resources and save money in the long run. The second arm of the study involves collecting blood from residents and staff to evaluate vaccine-induced immunity.