Capital Region Water Sewer Surveillance Project Update

While it’s valuable to know that cases are trending up in Harrisburg, imagine the value of knowing more about where those cases are occurring so that mitigation efforts could targeted to reduce the spike in reported cases and limit human health impacts and economic damage. That is the value proposition that HU is proposing with its pilot study.
 
HU data scientists seek to demonstrate the effectiveness of a combination of cheaper laboratory analysis and carefully planned, wider scale geographic testing at regular intervals. The resulting data from this approach would be used to map out where the virus is present and to estimate case counts within communities over time - a much greater level of detail than currently available. That more detailed modelling of the location and extent of the virus within communities would allow public health and government officials to design more targeted – and limited - policy interventions. Instead of county-wide lockdowns, for example, much more limited ones may be possible that not only enable better public health responses but also minimize the economic impact of the virus.
 
This pilot approach can be scaled up to a regional or even state-wide level. Such a system would be the first of its kind in the nation, and could create the foundation for a permanent state-wide disease surveillance system that can allow the Commonwealth to better prepare for, more quickly detect, and more effectively respond to public health emergencies and minimize both human and economic impacts.
 
Harrisburg University President Eric Darr has committed university funding for this pilot project, and HU’s Center for Environment, Energy, and Economy is currently seeking additional funding for the project from a variety of sources