Four Models of Wastewater-Based Monitoring for SARS-CoV-2 Complementing Individual Screening in Jail Settings.

To describe 4 unique models of operationalizing wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in jails of graduated sizes and different architectural designs. We summarize how jails of Cook County, Illinois (average daily population [ADP] 6000); Fulton County, Georgia (ADP 3000); Middlesex County, Massachusetts (ADP 875); and Washington, DC (ADP 1600) initiated WBS between 2020 and 2023. Positive signals for SARS-CoV-2 via WBS can herald a new onset of infections in previously uninfected jail housing units.

Outbreak of COVID-19 and interventions in a large jail - Cook County, IL, United States, 2020.

Background: Correctional and detention facilities are disproportionately affected by COVID-19 due to shared space, contact between staff and detained persons, and movement within facilities. On March 18, 2020, Cook County Jail, one of the United States' largest, identified its first suspected case of COVID-19 in a detained person.

Methods: This analysis includes SARS-CoV-2 cases confirmed by molecular detection among detained persons and Cook County Sheriff's Office staff.

Identification of Presymptomatic and Asymptomatic Cases Using Cohort-Based Testing Approaches at a Large Correctional Facility-Chicago, Illinois, USA, May 2020.

Background: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) continues to cause significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. Correctional and detention facilities are at high risk of experiencing outbreaks. We aimed to evaluate cohort-based testing among detained persons exposed to laboratory-confirmed cases of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in order to identify presymptomatic and asymptomatic cases.

Network Characteristics and Visualization of COVID-19 Outbreak in a Large Detention Facility in the United States - Cook County, Illinois, 2020.

Correctional and detention facilities have been disproportionately affected by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) because of shared space and movement of staff members and detained persons within facilities (1,2). During March 1-April 30, 2020, at Cook County Jail in Chicago, Illinois, >900 COVID-19 cases were diagnosed across all 10 housing divisions, representing 13 unique buildings. Movement within the jail was examined through network analyses and visualization, a field that examines elements within a network and the connections between them.

Direct identification of recombinant vaccinia virus plaques by PCR.

A fast method for the identification of recombinant vaccinia viruses directly from individual plaques is described. Plaques are picked, resuspended in PBS-A and processed for PCR using two 'universal' primers. The amplified sequences are analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis.