Publications by authors named "Jill Falman"
Article Synopsis
- The Human Health Exposure Analysis Resource (HHEAR) facilitates environmental exposure assessments within existing health studies, addressing challenges like knowledge gaps and limited lab access for analyzing exposures across life stages.
- The manuscript outlines how HHEAR combines resources, expertise, and logistics to enhance biospecimen and environmental sample analyses for improved understanding of human health over a lifetime.
- HHEAR offers a comprehensive range of services at no cost, provided certain funding requirements are met, ultimately aiming to integrate exposomics into national and international research efforts.
Effective surveillance of human enteric viruses is critical to estimate disease prevalence within a community and can be a vital supplement to clinical surveillance. This study sought to evaluate simple, effective, and inexpensive secondary concentration methods for use with ViroCap™ filter eluate for environmental surveillance of poliovirus. Wastewater was primary concentrated using cartridge ViroCap filters, seeded with poliovirus type 1 (PV1), and then concentrated using five secondary concentration methods (beef extract-Celite, ViroCap flat disc filter, InnovaPrep® Concentrating Pipette, polyethylene glycol [PEG]/sodium chloride [NaCl] precipitation, and skimmed-milk flocculation).
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- - Environmental surveillance of poliovirus (PV) is crucial for global eradication efforts, with the bag-mediated filtration system (BMFS) enhancing effectiveness compared to the WHO's two-phase grab method.
- - The study improved the BMFS for use in wastewater and surface waters in Nairobi by modifying aspects such as bag size and filter design to increase efficiency.
- - The enhanced BMFS can concentrate larger volumes of water (3-10 L down to 10 mL), resulting in a 6-20 times greater effective volume assayed than the WHO method, potentially reducing false-negative results and simplifying logistics for virus detection.
Article Synopsis
- Environmental surveillance of poliovirus and non-enveloped viruses is crucial for detecting silent outbreaks and ensuring successful eradication efforts.
- The study tested a bag-mediated filtration system for filtering water samples, finding that preservatives (sodium benzoate and calcium propionate) and antibiotics improved the longevity and recovery of viruses like poliovirus type 1 during storage.
- Using these additives can enhance virus detection in environmental samples, making it easier to monitor and respond to potential health threats caused by viral circulation.