![]() The knowledge gained through its use during the pandemic has enabled researchers to expand it for other infections, including RSV, influenza and other diseases. It was used widely for the first time to track infection levels. The use of wastewater surveillance as a way to measure the spread of infection in a community exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic. 1, 2022, and March 5, 2023.ĭelatolla said the study also found that the RSV season began earlier in Ottawa than in much of Ontario, something that could lead to more localized timing for administration of palivizumab. Researchers compared city-wide wastewater samples and pediatric RSV clinical test positivity and hospitalization trends in Ottawa and Hamilton between Aug. The first-of-its-kind research was conducted by Delatolla’s lab at uOttawa in collaboration with the CHEO Research Institute and McMaster’s Children’s Hospital in Hamilton. “This study suggests that wastewater-based surveillance for RSV can provide a population-level early-warning signal of RSV in the community, which has the potential to reduce the burden of RSV in our youngest population and our pediatric acute care system.” Nisha Thampi, the study’s senior author and an infectious disease specialist and researcher at CHEO. ![]() “When faced with potential surging pediatric volumes, any extra lead time helps hospitals to prepare, get public health messaging out and confirm that necessary RSV prevention and acute-care resources have been allocated effectively,” said Dr. Nisha Thampi, the study’s senior author and an infectious disease specialist and researcher at CHEO, says any extra lead time helps hospitals to prepare, get public health messaging out and confirm that necessary RSV prevention and acute-care resources “have been allocated effectively.” Photo by Tony Caldwell / Postmedia ![]() It would also help pediatric hospitals prepare.ĭr. Over the past three years, CHEO has administered approximately 1,000 doses of immunoprophylaxis during RSV season, usually five doses per patient. Having advance warning of when the virus would start to spread rapidly means health officials can be more accurate about when to begin doses of palivizumab to at-risk infants and children under two. Ontario administers monthly doses of preventative immunotherapy, called palivizumab, to the most vulnerable infants beginning at the start of RSV season. ![]() Knowing exactly when it begins is important for the preventative measures taken to protect very young and vulnerable babies from its most severe impact. RSV is a common and sometimes serious respiratory infection that spreads during the fall and winter viral seasons. The savings to the provincial health system, Delatolla said, were calculated to be in the range of $13 million-$16 million over three years. ![]() It is the leading cause of hospitalization among children under age two.Īccording to one analysis, if wastewater surveillance on RSV was done Ontario-wide, there would have been 250 fewer RSV hospitalizations last year, Delatolla said, and 950 fewer infections serious enough to require medical attention. That lead time is crucial for protecting some of the most vulnerable to deadly complications from RSV, which can cause severe illness in the elderly and very young. The study, which was published in the journal Frontiers in Public Health, found that wastewater surveillance successfully predicted the start of RSV season 12 days earlier than conventional indicators would have done. National Capital Region's Top Employers. ![]()
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