June 17, 2020 8:50p
(WPR)---State officials announced plans for two population health studies related to COVID-19 Wednesday. The efforts will "provide researchers and public health experts with a better understanding of where COVID-19 has been and help identify communities that may be at risk for future outbreaks," according to a DHS press release.
One study will involve DHS partnering with the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Survey of the Health of Wisconsin (SHOW) to test for COVID-19 antibodies in people across the state. Antibody testing looks at whether someone has been infected with the coronavirus in the past, whether or not they showed symptoms.
"The goal of this project is not to understand how many people are infected right now, but to understand cumulatively how many people have been infected since the start of the epidemic," said Dr. Ryan Westergaard, DHS Chief Medical Officer of the bureau of communicable diseases, in a call with reporters.
The other study will test sewage samples from wastewater treatment facilities across the state to look at concentrations of virus genetic material. DHS will partner with UW-Milwaukee and the state Department of Natural resources to carry out the testing.
"Surveillance of wastewater will provide public health officials with the opportunity to identify the magnitude of COVID-19 transmission, circulation within a community, and potentially, early warning detection of outbreaks," the press release stated.
Dr. Jon Meiman, DHS chief medical officer of the bureau of environmental and occupational health, said the plan is to test large city water systems frequently, and smaller systems sporadically.
Both studies will be paid for by federal funding, Westergaard said.
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