Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/V010441/1
National COVID-19 Wastewater Epidemiology Surveillance Programme
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr A Singer, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Pollution (Wallingford)
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr DJ Allen, University of Surrey, Veterinary Medicine & Science
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr A Corbishley, University of Edinburgh, The Roslin Institute
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr HS Jensen, University of Sheffield, Chemical & Biological Engineering
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor JE McDonald, University of Birmingham, Sch of Biosciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr K B Pouwels, University of Oxford, Population Health
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor DL Gally, University of Edinburgh, The Roslin Institute
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor DW Graham, Newcastle University, Sch of Engineering
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr C P Jewell, Lancaster University, Medicine
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr DA Dawson, University of Sheffield, School of Biosciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr P E ROBINS, Bangor University, Sch of Ocean Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor RR Kao, University of Edinburgh, Roslin Institute
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor B Kasprzyk-Hordern, University of Bath, Chemistry
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor S Malham, Bangor University, Sch of Ocean Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor TA Burke, University of Sheffield, School of Biosciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor T de Silva, University of Sheffield, Medicine and Biomedical Science
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr TC Darton, University of Sheffield, Infection Immunity & Cardiovasc Disease
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor V Speight, University of Sheffield, Civil and Structural Engineering
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor DL Jones, Bangor University, Sch of Natural Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor Z Yang, Cranfield University, School of Water, Energy and Environment
- Grant held at:
- UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Pollution (Wallingford)
- Science Area:
- None
- Overall Classification:
- Unknown
- ENRIs:
- None
- Science Topics:
- Water Risk Assessment
- Waste Management
- Waste Waters Management
- Environmental Microbiology
- Health risk
- Microbiology
- Virology
- Microorganisms
- Coronaviridae
- Pollutant transport
- Pollution
- Water pollution
- Abstract:
- Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) requires relatively few resources compared to the systematic testing of populations. WBE is especially promising for novel infectious diseases, where asymptomatic cases might play a significant role in transmitting the virus. However, WBE is only now being used to monitor the spread of a pandemic infectious disease. Early studies by ourselves and others have shown that SARS-CoV-2 RNA can be recovered from wastewater, including from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) preceding local COVID-19 hospitalisation activity. Given the challenge of making available diagnostic tests to the entire UK population, WBE represents a potentially low-cost and immediate mechanism for understanding levels of infection within large geographic areas. N-WESP aims to compare our methods with those of European & North American WBE teams in an inter-lab trial for understanding, supporting and improving the DEFRA COVID-19 measurements which will feed into the Joint Biosecurity Centre (JBC). We will also compare methods with DEFRA, the EA's and JBC whilst they explore options for finer geographical measurements. N-WESP will empower public health authorities with an optimised surveillance tool with maximal sensitivity and predictive power whose uncertainties have been well characterised. N-WESP will determine whether SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater and sludge is infectious, and to what extent there might be downstream risks to human health. N-WESP will exploit catchment and, uniquely, sub-catchment-scale longitudinal surveillance to understand temporal and spatial heterogeneity, relationships to human disease burden distribution and whether there is potential outbreak 'hotspots' by surveilling sewer system nodes.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/V010441/1
- Grant Stage:
- Completed
- Scheme:
- UKRI
- Grant Status:
- Closed
- Programme:
- COVID 19 Rapid Response
This grant award has a total value of £791,191
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DI - Staff | DA - Estate Costs | DI - T&S | DA - Other Directly Allocated |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
£110,793 | £226,086 | £59,245 | £295,198 | £74,583 | £5,049 | £20,240 |
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