a special interest in the plants nearby hospitals. The virus quantity is dependent on the numbers of patients but also on asymptomatic carriers. To follow the virus concentration in waste water on regularly basis thus permits to perform a sanitary surveillance on the whole population. Hence, it allows to detect an increase in viral concentration associated to a new epidemic peak or to point out the introduction of SARS-CoV-2 into a new geographic area.
The research developed in the Department of Pharmacy (Principal Investigators: Prof. Jean-Michel Dogné & Prof. Jonathan Douxfils, NTHC, NARILIS) in collaboration with the pharmacist-biologist Julien Favresse from the Clinique Saint-Luc – Bouge, aims to evaluate the clinical performance of serologic tests. The objective is to allow for their improvement in order to limit as much as possible the false negative and the false positive results. It is also important to identify the groups of patients that display unusual serological response profiles.
The lockdown as well as the other measures imposed by the Federal Government had, have and will have deep impacts on the Belgian population. Numerous researchers of UNamur look into these questions.
The expertise developed in UNamur in the field of metallic coating is also exploited in the fight against the SARS-CoV-2. Indeed, some metals used as thin coating have been demonstrated to display anti-bacteria properties. Indeed, copper is used for this activity in many hospitals. The Department of Physics (Principal Investigator: Prof. S. Lucas) investigates whether similar coatings would display anti-viral properties. In parallel, the design and 3D printing of new swabs is performed with parallel clinical studies to evaluate their efficacy to sample virus and their safety and comfort for the patients.
To name just a few examples: - Prof. Alain Decrop, who is an expert on tourism research, is studying how tourism restrictions impact not only on the different stakeholders but also on the traveler behavior. - Economy is one of the sectors that is the most affected. Several members of DeFFiP research institute follow and investigate the situation (Principal Investigators: Prof. Marcus Dejardin, Guilhem Cassan, Etienne de Callataÿ). - Belgian politics had to completely reorganize and Belgian politicians from the different federal entities had to coordinate their actions. Prof. Jeremy Dodeigne describes and analyzes these changes while Prof. Laurent De Briey investigates how citizens gained or lost their confidence in politicians. - Many workers had to modify their habits: in one day, homeworking has been imposed without any preparation. Guidelines had to be defined, IT materials had to be provided. If some of them enjoyed very much being able to work at home, some others had to live through difficulties. Prof. Valerie Flohimont, from the Law Faculty, and Prof. Anne-Sophie Collard, from the Faculty of Economy, Social Sciences and Communication, provided their expertise in the field of well-being at work to analyze this new situation and to propose adequate guidelines to implement home working in different work places. - The lockdown deeply affected everyone; many could find enough resilience to cope with this unprecedented situation but others suffered from psychological troubles. Prof. Martin Desseilles, a psychiatrist from the Faculty of Medicine, is analyzing a survey in order to assess what are the percentages of people in each group, what are the troubles people are suffering from and what are the facts that influenced the most the frail ones.
A consortium of researchers from NARILIS, naXys and DeFiPP institutes (Timoteo Carletti, Simon Clesse, Nicolas Franco, Catherine Linard, Jean-Philippe Platteau, Annick Sartenaer, Vincenzo Verardi) has been studying the evolution of the situation in Belgium for weeks. This team has created various models which lean on the statistical data provided by Sciensano. The models project the situations according to the decisions made by the authorities. These estimations comprise a mean trend and intervals can be calculated, which can give an idea of the “trust milestones” between which we should stand. The models enable short-term simulation but also on the long-term if, for instance, the epidemic needs to be evaluated during the summer holidays and then, in September when schools and universities reopen. Each model can be adapted to a particular aim. These works show that mathematical modeling is extremely important, that it contributes to the implemented measures analysis and help predict the evolution of the epidemic. They also show it is essential to sensitize the public to the importance of complying with the measures and take into account the specific Belgian context. Thanks to these works, the scientists of this new consortium can perform daily monitoring of the epidemic in a post-lockdown phase. This is of the outmost importance since these data help in decisionmaking. e-biom is a spin off of UNamur. It is a biological and environmental consulting firm combined with a multidisciplinary lab specializing in biological monitoring, ecological assessment and biological surveys. Its strong expertise in genetics allows to conduct species diagnosis and to address numerous ecological questions in disciplines as varied as biogeography, conservation or landscape genetics.
Finally, universities are also places where ethical concerns are expressed. In the current sanitary crisis, governmental decisions raised numerous questions. Among many others, there are questions about how to choose who should receive the best treatments, why elder people were neglected during the beginning of the pandemia in Belgium, how everyone accepts or does not accept the restrictions imposed on our liberties, what kind of tracing is acceptable on the juridical, ethical and personal points of view. Prof. Elise Degrave, Natalie Rigaux, Laurent Schumacher, Stephanie Wattiez, Valerie Flohimont, Nathalie Burnay and Dr Isabelle Dagneaux are investigating these ethical issues taking into account several angles. They also participate in public debates about these questions in order to help the Society understand the different points of view but also the politicians to take the best decisions.
Following the detection of the SARS-CoV-2 in patient faeces, several international scientific studies showed that viral DNA can be detected in the waste water and that this DNA is not associated to infectious viral particles but the pieces of DNA. Taking advantage of its strong expertise in environmental DNA detection, e-biom developed and validated a genomic detection method for SARS-CoV-2 DNA in waste water, in collaboration with the SANA platform. With the Société Publique de Gestion de l’Eau (SPGE), sites upstream of water treatment plants have been selected, in order to cover most of the Wallonia area, with
The University of Namur is at the heart of the Society, completely fulfilling its role, its third mission, being a place of knowledge, thinking and actions in a world shaken by the COVID-19. 171
