Tiny swabs: nasal swabs integrated into tube caps facilitate large-scale self-collected SARS-CoV-2 testing

The COVID-19 pandemic spurred the development of innovative solutions for specimen collection and molecular detection for large-scale community testing. Among these developments is the RHINOstic nasal swab, a plastic anterior nares swab built into the cap of a standard matrix tube that facilitates automated processing of up to 96 specimens at a time. In a study of unsupervised self-collection utilizing these swabs, we demonstrate comparable analytic performance and shipping stability compared to traditional anterior nares swabs, as well as significant improvements in laboratory processing efficiency. The use of these swabs may allow laboratories to accommodate large numbers of sample collections during periods of high testing demand. Automation-friendly nasal swabs are an important tool for high-throughput processing of samples that may be adopted in response to future respiratory viral pandemics.

CASCADIA: a prospective community-based study protocol for assessing SARS-CoV-2 vaccine effectiveness in children and adults using a remote nasal swab collection and web-based survey design

INTRODUCTION

Although SARS-CoV-2 vaccines were first approved under Emergency Use Authorization by the Food and Drug Administration in late 2020 for adults, authorisation for young children 6 months to <5 years of age did not occur until 2022. These authorisations were based on clinical trials, understanding real-world vaccine effectiveness (VE) in the setting of emerging variants is critical. The primary goal of this study is to evaluate SARS-CoV-2 VE against infection among children aged >6 months and adults aged <50 years.

METHODS

CASCADIA is a 4-year community-based prospective study of SARS-CoV-2 VE among 3500 adults and paediatric populations aged 6 months to 49 years in Oregon and Washington, USA. At enrolment and regular intervals, participants complete a sociodemographic questionnaire. Individuals provide a blood sample at enrolment and annually thereafter, with optional blood draws every 6 months and after infection and vaccination. Participants complete weekly self-collection of anterior nasal swabs and symptom questionnaires. Swabs are tested for SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory pathogens by reverse transcription-PCR, with results of selected pathogens returned to participants; nasal swabs with SARS-CoV-2 detected will undergo whole genome sequencing. Participants who test positive for SARS-CoV-2 undergo serial swab collection every 3 days for 21 days. Serum samples are tested for SARS-CoV-2 antibody by binding and neutralisation assays.

ANALYSIS

The primary outcome is SARS-CoV-2 infection. Cox regression models will be used to estimate the incidence rate ratio associated with SARS-CoV-2 vaccination among the paediatric and adult population, controlling for demographic factors and other potential confounders.

ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION

All study materials including the protocol, consent forms, data collection instruments, participant communication and recruitment materials, were approved by the Kaiser Permanente Interregional Institutional Review Board, the IRB of record for the study. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed publications, presentations, participant newsletters and appropriate general news media.

Effects of Stormwater Pipe Size and Rainfall on Sediment and Nutrients Delivered to a Coastal Bayou

Pollutants discharged from stormwater pipes can cause water quality and ecosystem problems in coastal bayous. A study was conducted to characterize sediment and nutrients discharged by small and large (< 20 cm and >20 cm in internal diameters, respectively) pipes under different rainfall intensities (< 2.54 cm and > 2.54 cm, respectively). Results showed that large pipes had greater discharge than small pipes. Pollutants concentrations did not vary by pipe size. Large pipes had greater loads of TSS (138.2 vs. 24.0 mg/s), NO3(-) (5.54 vs. 2.74 mg/s), and NH4(+) (0.39 vs. 0.19 mg/s) than small pipes. Neither discharge nor constituents varied by rainfall events. Pipe size may be a useful metric for estimating loads to a system. Nutrient reduction efforts should be directed to reducing the dissolved nutrient pools, while stormwater management efforts should be directed to reducing pipe freshwater discharge volumes that drive constituent loads.