SARS-CoV-2 Epidemiology on a Public University Campus in Washington State

  1. Ana A. Weil
  2. Sarah L. Sohlberg
  3. Jessica A. O’Hanlon
  4. Amanda M. Casto
  5. Anne W Emanuels
  6. Natalie K. Lo
  7. Emily P. Greismer
  8. Ariana M. Magedson
  9. Naomi C. Wilcox
  10. Ashley E. Kim
  11. Lewis Back
  12. Christian D. Frazar
  13. Ben Pelle
  14. Thomas R. Sibley
  15. Misja Ilcisin
  16. Jover Lee
  17. Erica L. Ryke
  18. J. Chris Craft
  19. Kristen M. Schwabe-Fry
  20. Kairsten A. Fay
  21. Shari Cho
  22. Peter D. Han
  23. Sarah J. Heidl
  24. Brian A. Pfau
  25. Melissa Truong
  26. Weizhi Zhong
  27. Sanjay R. Srivatsan
  28. Katia F. Harb
  29. Geoffrey S. Gottlieb
  30. James P. Hughes
  31. Deborah A. Nickerson
  32. Christina M. Lockwood
  33. Lea M. Starita
  34. Trevor Bedford
  35. Jay A. Shendure
  36. Helen Y. Chu
1 evaluations Published on
Read the full article Related papers
This article on Sciety

Abstract

Background

Testing programs have been utilized as part of SARS-CoV-2 mitigation strategies on university campuses, and it is not known which strategies successfully identify cases and contain outbreaks.

Objective

Evaluation of a testing program to control SARS-CoV-2 transmission at a large university.

Design

Prospective longitudinal study using remote contactless enrollment, daily mobile symptom and exposure tracking, and self-swab sample collection. Individuals were tested if the participant was (1) exposed to a known case, developed new symptoms, or reported high-risk behavior, (2) a member of a group experiencing an outbreak, or (3) at baseline upon enrollment.

Setting

An urban, public university during Autumn quarter of 2020

Participants

Students, staff, and faculty.

Measurements

SARS-CoV-2 PCR testing was conducted, and viral genome sequencing was performed.

Results

We enrolled 16,476 individuals, performed 29,783 SARS-CoV-2 tests, and detected 236 infections. Greek community affiliation was the strongest risk factor for testing positive. 75.0% of positive cases reported at least one of the following: symptoms (60.8%), exposure (34.7%), or high-risk behaviors (21.5%). 88.1% of viral genomes (52/59) sequenced from Greek-affiliated students were genetically identical to at least one other genome detected, indicative of rapid SARS-CoV-2 spread within this group, compared to 37.9% (11/29) of genomes from non-Greek students and employees.

Limitations

Observational study.

Conclusion

In a setting of limited resources during a pandemic, we prioritized testing of individuals with symptoms and high-risk exposure during outbreaks. Rapid spread of SARS- CoV-2 occurred within outbreaks without evidence of further spread to the surrounding community. A testing program focused on high-risk populations may be effective as part of a comprehensive university-wide mitigation strategy to control the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.

Related articles

Related articles are currently not available for this article.