Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Predictive Power Of Wastewater For Nowcasting Infectious Disease Transmission: A Retrospective Case Study Of Five Sewershed Areas In Louisville, Kentucky, Fayette Klaassen, Rochelle H. Holm, Ted Smith, Ted Cohen, Aruni Bhatnagar, Nicolas A. Menzies

Faculty Scholarship

Background: Epidemiological nowcasting traditionally relies on count surveillance data. The availability and quality of such count data may vary over time, limiting representation of true infections. Wastewater data correlates with traditional surveillance data and may provide additional value for nowcasting disease trends. Methods: We obtained SARS-CoV-2 case, death, wastewater, and serosurvey data for Jefferson County, Kentucky (USA), between August 2020 and March 2021, and parameterized an existing nowcasting model using combinations of these data. We assessed the predictive performance and variability at the sewershed level and compared the effects of adding or replacing wastewater data to case and death reports. …

Assessing Boil Water Notices As Health-Risk Communication: Risk Perceptions, Efficacy, And Compliance During Winter Storm Uri, Ashleigh M. Day, Sydney O'Shay, Khairul Islam, Matthew W. Seeger, Shawn P. Mcelmurry

Open Data at Wayne State

Winter Storm Uri was an extreme disaster that impacted much of the United States during February of 2021. Texas and Oklahoma were generally not prepared for such an event and experienced massive power grid failures. This led to cascading risks including water system disruptions and many boil water notices (BWNs). The breakdown of some communication channels and the inability to enact protective actions due to power outages, as well as travel limitations on public roads, complicated both dissemination and implementation. Under these conditions, a non-representative, cross-sectional, survey was collected to assess individuals experience BWNs and how perceived efficacy impacts compliance. …

Not A Waste: Wastewater Surveillance To Enhance Public Health, Anna Gitter, Jeremiah Oghuan, Anuja Rajendra Godbole, Carlos A. Chavarria, Carlos Monserrat, Tao Hu, Yun Wang, Anthony W. Maresso, Blake M. Hanson, Kristina D. Mena, Fuqing Wu

Pharmacy Faculty Articles and Research

Domestic wastewater, when collected and evaluated appropriately, can provide valuable health-related information for a community. As a relatively unbiased and non-invasive approach, wastewater surveillance may complement current practices towards mitigating risks and protecting population health. Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater programs are now widely implemented to monitor viral infection trends in sewersheds and inform public health decision-making. This review summarizes recent developments in wastewater-based epidemiology for detecting and monitoring communicable infectious diseases, dissemination of antimicrobial resistance, and illicit drug consumption. Wastewater surveillance, a quickly advancing Frontier in environmental science, is becoming a new tool to enhance public health, improve …

Defining County-Level Terrestrial Rabies Freedom Using The Us National Rabies Surveillance System: Surveillance Data Analysis, Amber Kunkel, Gabriella Veytsel, Sarah C. Bonaparte, Haillie Meek, Xiaoyue Ma, Amy J. Davis, Jesse Bonwitt, Ryan M. Wallace

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Background: Rabies is a deadly zoonotic disease with nearly 100% fatality rate. In the United States, rabies virus persists in wildlife reservoirs, with occasional spillover into humans and domestic animals. The distribution of reservoir hosts in US counties plays an important role in public health decision-making, including the recommendation of lifesaving postexposure prophylaxis upon suspected rabies exposures. Furthermore, in surveillance data, it is difficult to discern whether counties have no cases reported because rabies was not present or because counties have an unreported rabies presence. These epizootics are monitored by the National Rabies Surveillance System (NRSS), to which approximately 130 …

The Detection Of Periodic Reemergence Events Of Sars-Cov-2 Delta Strain In Communities Dominated By Omicron, Claire E. Westcott, Kevin J. Sokoloski, Eric C. Rouchka, Julia H. Chariker, Rochelle H. Holm, Ray A. Yeager, Joseph B. Moore Iv, Erin M. Elliott, Daymond Talley, Aruni Bhatnagar

Faculty Scholarship

Despite entering an endemic phase, SARS-CoV-2 remains a significant burden to public health across the global community. Wastewater sampling has consistently proven utility to understanding SARS-CoV-2 prevalence trends and genetic variation as it represents a less biased assessment of the corresponding communities. Here, we report that ongoing monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 genetic variation in samples obtained from the wastewatersheds of the city of Louisville in Jefferson county Kentucky has revealed the periodic reemergence of the Delta strain in the presence of the presumed dominant Omicron strain. Unlike previous SARS-CoV-2 waves/emergence events, the Delta reemergence events were geographically restricted in the community …

Beyond The Covid-19 Pandemic, Havovi Joshi

Asian Management Insights

From the editor

How Community Participation In Water And Sanitation Interventions Impacts Human Health, Wash Infrastructure And Service Longevity In Low-Income And Middle-Income Countries: A Realist Review, Sarah Nelson, Dorothy Drabarek, Aaron Jenkins, Joel Negin, Seye Abimbola

Research outputs 2014 to 2021

Objective:

To understand how, and under what circumstances community participation in water and sanitation interventions impacts the availability of safe water and sanitation, a change in health status or behaviour and the longevity of water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) resources and services.

Design:

Realist review.

Data sources:

PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus databases were used to identify papers from low-income and middle-income countries from 2010 to 2020.

Eligibility criteria for selecting studies:

Criteria were developed for papers to be included. The contribution of each paper was assessed based on its relevance and rigour (eg, can it contribute to context, …

Surveys For Ticks On Wildlife Hosts And In The Environment At Asian Longhorned Tick (Haemaphysalis Longicornis)-Positive Sites In Virginia And New Jersey, 2018, Seth A. White, Sarah N. Bevins, Mark G. Ruder, David Shaw, Stacey L. Vigil, Adam Randall, Thomas J. Deliberto, Kristen Dominguez, Alec T. Thompson, James W. Mertins, Jeffrey T. Alfred, Michael J. Yabsley

USDA Wildlife Services: Staff Publications

Haemaphysalis longicornis, the Asian longhorned tick (ALT), is native to eastern Asia, but it has become invasive in several countries, including Australia, New Zealand and recently in the eastern United States (US). To identify wild mammal and avian host species in the US, we conducted active wildlife surveillance in two states with known ALT infestations (Virginia and New Jersey). In addition, we conducted environmental surveys in both states. These surveillance efforts resulted in detection of 51 ALTinfested individuals from seven wildlife species, including raccoon (Procyon lotor), Virginia opossum (Didelphis virginiana), red fox (Vulpes vulpes …

An Assessment Of Disinfection-Related Water Chemistry At Public Pools And Spas In Louisville, Kentucky, Thomas Gerding, Tim Wilder, Jason W. Marion

EKU Faculty and Staff Scholarship

The growth in the number of pools to more than 7.4 million in the U.S. has been accompanied by a rise in recreational water illnesses (RWIs). Effective pool management, though, can mitigate RWI risks. Inadequate management presumably occurs more frequently where training is less formalized and/or pool operation is a minor aspect of the job of the responsible pool manager(s). During summer 2018, weekly evaluations were performed at public venues in Louisville, Kentucky. Disinfectant levels and other items were monitored and compared with venue-specific (pool or spa) criteria. Among 1,312 venue surveys, 1,173 (89.4%) met criteria and 139 (10.6%) did …

Outdoor Air Quality, Taylor Curley

Global Issues in Public Health

Outdoor air quality is a significant issue for the entire world. It affects any and all people, but is more of an issue in low-income countries and among people that are more susceptible to respiratory issues such as young children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people who already suffer from respiratory problems like asthma. Poor air quality is caused by the burning of fossil fuels which releases particles and chemicals into the air like carbon dioxide, particulate matter, and nitrogen to name a few. It can cause multiple health issues such as respiratory problems to people who are exposed to …

Indoor Air Quality: The United States, Paola Solano

Global Issues in Public Health

Indoor air quality is one of today’s most prevalent public health concerns. It is quite shocking to learn that almost all populations in the world can be affected. We oftentimes expect to be home and be safe, but our indoor environment can also be harming to our health. In certain regions, there is more pollution indoors than outdoors due to the surrounding environment. There exist numerous factors that can cause poor air quality. Some of the most common causes include mold, carbon dioxide, moisture damage, and other indoor air contaminants. Although alarming, there are many practices that can better the …

Water Scarcity: Sudan, Catherine Priebe

Global Issues in Public Health

Water scarcity is an environmental global problem that will only become more pressing as time goes on. It is a public health issue that affects every continent, although certain areas of the world are facing more serious water scarcity than others such as Sudan. Populations that are more vulnerable to the effects of water scarcity are the poor, women, children, and those living in areas of political unrest. For example, South Sudan’s urban water systems have been damaged during recent warfare. Water scarcity is also an issue that disproportionately affects women who are forced from a young age to travel …

How Useful Is Gsv As An Environmental Observation Tool? An Analysis Of The Evidence So Far., Katherine Nesse, Leah Airt

SPU Works

Researchers in many disciplines have turned to Google Street View to replace pedestrian- or carbased in-person observation of streetscapes. It is most prevalent within the research literature on the relationship between neighborhood environments and public health but has been used as diverse as disaster recovery, ecology and wildlife habitat, and urban design. Evaluations of the tool have found that the results of GSV-based observation are similar to the results from in-person observation although the similarity depends on the type of characteristic being observed. Larger, permanent and discrete features showed more consistency between the two methods and smaller, transient and judgmental …

Chad : Hepatitis E, Hanna Pegarsch

Global Public Health

Contaminated drinking water in Chad is the main source for a Hepatitis E outbreak, leading Chad citizens to develop severe illness including jaundice, liver-failure, miscarriage, and death. There are 0.4 physicians for every 10,000 people living in Chad needing healthcare. Of the citizens in Chad, only 42% have access to uncontaminated drinking water. With such a long incubation period for Hepatitis E, the citizens don’t know they are spreading the illness to the rest of their community. Even with the symptoms, the citizens don’t have the access or the capacity for treatment, making Hepatitis E an epidemic in Chad.

Iarc Monographs: 40 Years Of Evaluating Carcinogenic Hazards To Humans, Neil E. Pearce, Aaron Blair, Paolo Vineis, Wolfgang Ahrens, Aage Andersom, Josep M. Anto, Bruce K. Armstrong, Andrea A. Baccarelli, Frederick A. Beland, Amy Berrington, Pier Alberto Bertazzi, Linda S. Birnbaum, Ross C. Brownson, John R. Bucher, Kenneth P. Cantor, Elisabeth Cardis, John W. Cherrie, David C. Christiani, Pierluigi Cocco, David Coggon, Pietro Comba, Paul A. Demers, John M. Dement, Jeroen Douwes, Ellen A. Eisen, Lawrence S. Engel, Richard A. Fenske, Lora E. Fleming, Tony Fletcher, Elizabeth Fontham, Francesco Forastiere, Rainer Frentzel-Beyme, Lin Fritschi, Michel Gerin, Marcel Goldberg, Philippe Grandjean, Tom K. Grimsrud, Per Gustavsson, Andy Haines, Patricia Hartge, Johnni Hansen, Michael Hauptmann, Dick Heederik, Kari Hemminki, Denis Hemon, Irva Hertz-Picciotto, Jane A. Hoppin, James Huff, Bengt Jarvholm, Daehee Kang, Margaret R. Karagas

Dartmouth Scholarship

Background: Recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) Programme for the Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks to Humans has been criticized for several of its evaluations, and also for the approach used to perform these evaluations. Some critics have claimed that failures of IARC Working Groups to recognize study weaknesses and biases of Working Group members have led to inappropriate classification of a number of agents as carcinogenic to humans.

Objectives: The authors of this Commentary are scientists from various disciplines relevant to the identification and hazard evaluation of human carcinogens. We examined criticisms of the IARC classification process …

Slides: Public Health Research On Near O&G Development: Challenges And Needs, John L. Adgate

Water and Air Quality Issues in Oil and Gas Development: The Evolving Framework of Regulation and Management (Martz Summer Conference, June 5-6)

Presenter: John L. Adgate, PhD, MSPH, Professor and Chair, Department of Environmental and Occupational Health, University of Colorado

19 slides

Agenda: Fracking, Water Quality And Public Health: Examining Current Laws And Regulations, Network For Public Health Law, American Society Of Law, Medicine & Ethics, Public Health Law Research Program

Fracking, Water Quality and Public Health: Examining Current Laws and Regulations (March 20)

Improved technology developments in directional drilling and hydraulic fracturing, more commonly known as "fracking," have resulted in an oil and gas production boom nationwide. Fracking involves pumping pressurized water, sand, and chemicals down wells to crack bedrock, freeing petroleum and natural gas. Wastewater discharges, hydraulic fracturing fluid releases, and other accidental spills pose potential water quality risks, sparking concern for public health.

This webinar will examine the laws and regulations governing water quality issues related to fracking, recent state court decisions affecting regulations, and implications for public health.

Slides: Best Management Practices For Oil And Gas Development And Comparative Water Quality Database Of Regulations Relating To Shale Oil And Gas, Matt Samelson, University Of Colorado Boulder. Getches-Wilkinson Center For Natural Resources, Energy, And The Environment. Intermountain Oil And Gas Bmp Project

Fracking, Water Quality and Public Health: Examining Current Laws and Regulations (March 20)

Presenter: Matt Samelson, J.D., Attorney, Consultant for Intermountain Oil and Gas Best Management Practices (BMP) Project, Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy and the Environment, University of Colorado Law School

34 slides

A Meta-Analysis Of Alternative Water Sources, Katie Colton

Honors Projects in History and Social Sciences

Roughly one half of the Earth’s population suffers from shortage or lack of clean water. While many innovations and products have been created to address this Global Water Crisis, no comparisons have been done as to which innovations and products are the best overall choice for philanthropic investment. The crisis can be broken down into three specific crises including the transportation crisis, the access crisis, and the sanitation crisis. The study examined fifteen innovations and products, targeted to address the three crises to determine which innovation in each group is the overall smart investment. Pulse tool was used to create …

Pollution And Public Health In A Shrinking World: Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations As A Paradigm For Emergent Needs In Environmental And Public Health Policy, Leland Stillman

Self-Designed Majors Honors Papers

Environmental factors play a major part in human health. Environmental pollutants are often as poisonous to humans as the environment. Presently, much time and energy is dedicated to keeping pollution apart from human society, with varying success. But as global population densities rise, current levels of pollution will become inviable due to public health concerns. An emergent example of this is in the concentration of livestock operations. Recent changes in the structure of U.S. hog farming have resulted in an industry-wide shift from small or medium production farms to high capacity, “concentrated animal feeding operations” (CAFO). These operations have become …

Agenda: World Energy Justice Conference And Appropriate Technology Arcade, University Of Colorado Boulder. Center For Energy & Environmental Security, University Of Colorado Boulder. School Of Law

World Energy Justice Conference (October 23-24)

The 2009 CEES Energy Justice Conference took place at the University of Colorado Law School on October 23rd and 24th, 2009. It featured 11 sessions, more than 40 speakers, and attracted over 200 attendees. The Conference brought together leading international and U.S. decision-makers in politics, engineering, public health, law, business, economics, and innovators in the sciences to explore how best to address the critical needs of the energy-oppressed poor (EOP) through long-term interdisciplinary action, information sharing, and deployment of appropriate sustainable energy technologies (ASETs).

The Colorado Journal of International Environmental Law & Policy (CJIELP) at the University of Colorado Law …

Plymouth-Carver Sole Source Aquifer: Regional Open Space Plan, Urban Harbors Institute, University Of Massachusetts Boston

Urban Harbors Institute Publications

The second largest sole source aquifer in Massachusetts, the Plymouth-Carver Sole Source Aquifer (the Aquifer) covers 140 square miles underlying the towns of Plymouth, Carver, Kingston, Wareham, Plympton, Middleborough, and Bourne. The Aquifer contains over 500 billion gallons of fresh water (USGS 1992), and serves as a critical water resource for residential, commercial, and agricultural uses in the area. Though its resources are vast, they are not unlimited, nor are they unaffected by contamination.

On August 7, 1990, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released a notice announcing that the Plymouth-Carver Aquifer satisfies all criteria for designation as a sole source …