Publications by authors named "Oleh Kowalskyj"
Article Synopsis
- Wastewater surveillance for SARS-CoV-2 was studied in 8 Veterans Affairs nursing homes to see if it could provide early warning of COVID-19 cases among residents and staff.
- The pilot study involved daily sampling of wastewater for 6 months and revealed that all homes tested positive for the virus, aligning with COVID-19 infections reported in occupants.
- However, the method demonstrated limited sensitivity, detecting only 60% of COVID-19 cases in residents and 46% in employees, suggesting that while it could aid infection control, it has significant limitations.
growth in healthcare building water systems can result in legionellosis, making water management programs (WMPs) important for patient safety. However, knowledge is limited on prevalence in healthcare buildings. A dataset of quarterly water testing in Veterans Health Administration (VHA) healthcare buildings was used to examine national environmental prevalence from 2015 to 2018.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFContext: The Veterans Health Administration requires implementation of Legionella prevention policy in potable water systems at Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) medical facilities across the United States and territories.
Program: The Veterans Health Administration Central Office program offices with expertise in engineering and clinical aspects of Legionella prevention policy have provided joint, structured on-site assistance to VA medical facilities for consultation on policy implementation. Site visits included review of facility documentation and data, discussions with staff, touring of buildings, and development of recommendations.