MADISON, Wis. — Air sampling can accurately detect flu and COVID-19 levels, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health.

What You Need To Know

  • Air sampling can accurately detect flu and COVID-19 levels, according to a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health

  • The study involved placing air samplers in the Oregon School District’s school cafeterias to collect virus particles

  • Testing took place during the 2022-23 school year

  • The study, published in JAMA Network Open, is part of a long-term respiratory surveillance project which started in 2013

The study involved placing air samplers in the Oregon School District’s school cafeterias to collect virus particles. Testing took place during the 2022-23 school year. Researchers found air sampling can be an accurate way to measure an outbreak.

 “As widespread community testing for the coronavirus wanes, it appears that air sampling can provide a good awareness of the presence of both the influenza A virus and the SARS-CoV-2 virus that causes COVID-19,” said Dr. Jonathan Temte, lead author of the study and professor of family medicine and community health at UW. “Schools are excellent places to test these methods because of their role in spreading respiratory viruses.”

The study, published in JAMA Network Open, is part of a long-term respiratory surveillance project which started in 2013. It’s called Oregon Child Absenteeism due to Respiratory Disease Study, or ORCHARDS. In the study, seven Oregon School District school buildings were given air monitors, which trap the virus particles in filters.

This way of measuring the virus was compared to three other methods of testing, including rapid antigen testing at school, daily counts of absent students because of suspected respiratory viruses and at-home specimen collection by students.

Similar respiratory disease patterns were found in all four methods of testings.

“All the methods demonstrated the ‘epidemic’ nature of influenza and the constancy of SARS-CoV-2 over the assessment period,” Temte said.

Results show an influenza A outbreak in the district that had peaked from Dec. 11-24, 2022. That dropped off following the winter break.

For COVID-19, low-to-moderate levels of the virus persisted in at least two buildings from the beginning of the school year until the end of Jan. 2023. However, there was a difference between methods. The antigen testing didn’t pick up on any COVID-19 following winter break, whereas the other methods did.

Researchers said the results of the study are beneficial because this method of collecting data on disease outbreaks is non-invasive and is anonymous.

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