Development of new fields of application for the epidemiological wastewater monitoring of the City of Vienna

Duration:
01/2024 - 12/2024

Financing:

Public Health Services of the City of Vienna (MA15)

Contact Person:
Julia Vierheilig

Co-worker:
Gabriela Eder, Philipp Raunjak

Project partner:
Public Health Services of the City of Vienna (MA15), Medical University of Vienna, ebswien kläranlage & tierservice Ges.m.b.H., Wien Kanal, City of Vienna - Municipal Department for Economic Affairs, Labour and Statistics (MA23)

Brief information on the project

The NAABE project aims to open up new fields of application for the City of Vienna's epidemiological wastewater monitoring. MA 15, as the client, is endeavouring to identify possible applications and innovative approaches that go beyond the pandemic prevention mandate in order to evaluate cost-efficient and broad-based analysis methods for practical application.

Samples from the inflow of the wastewater treatment plant Vienna as well as regular samples from the four main collection channels are taken on a weekly basis and analysed in the laboratory at TU Wien. The extracts are transferred to the Medical University, where a kit is used that enables several thousand viruses to be sequenced in just one sample. This should provide a broad overview of the viruses circulating in society that are potentially harmful to health.

Another focus is the establishment of the quantification of new targets via qPCR and dPCR at TU Wien, so that specific viruses can be determined not only qualitatively but also quantitatively.

This project aims to identify which other health-related parameters can be analysed to enable the Vienna Health Service to continue to fulfil its public mandate in the future.