SAN ANTONIO — The results from the coronavirus wastewater tests over the winter holiday are complete, and researchers say they discovered traces of the virus several days before a spike was reported.
UTSA researchers led the study funded by the Bexar County Health Collaborative. The agency awarded the university more than $158,000 to conduct wastewater tests. A collaborative spokesperson says the research grant was funded through a partnership with the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District to award $500,000 of CARES Act Funding to COVID-19 community research.
She says the goal of the research grant was to address the gap in existing research on the effect of COVID-19 on marginalized communities with high risk for severe consequences such as hospitalization, increased ventilator use or even death.
The study conducted tests at two sites—the Salitrillo Wastewater Treatment Plant and the Martinez II Wastewater Treatment Plant in the Converse area. The study began in June of 2020, and ended in December.
Duc Phan, a postdoctoral researcher at UTSA’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, helped conduct part of the research. His role is to assist students and manage project activities. Phan shared the results of the final round of tests.
“Our data show a spike on the first week of December, and first week of January, which is about several day earlier than spikes show in Metro Health data,” Phan said.
UTSA researchers say the data from previous tests also predicted a spike in coronavirus cases after large social gatherings during Fourth of July and Thanksgiving break. The health collaborative spokesperson says CARES funding expired and the agency does not have additional plans to extend funding at this time.
UTSA, however, has been seeking additional money to continue their program. With the threat of coronavirus variants, Phan says wastewater tests are vital to monitor possible outbreaks and the effectiveness of vaccines. He adds that the method is less invasive.
“In the future we can do this with a small population. A small facility like a building, a school,” Phan said. “For those small facilities or schools, they can make a decision whether they need to cancel school. Those decisions can be made.”