TESTING

what that might lead to is having people wear masks in class to mitigate the spread of the virus,” Bode said.

Wastewater testing also allows the university to determine if surges might occur sooner than testing data might show.

Syed Hyder, who works with Bode at NIU’s COVID-19 facilities, said as of Jan. 19 the dorms where the lab collects samples from had a “low to moderate” prevalence rate.

On top of the dorm sample sites, the program has two community sites that sample wastewater on a larger public scale: buildings which are open to the general public, and the Kishwaukee Water Reclamation District’s water treatment plant that’s used for a zoomed out view of the broader community.

Although the virus that causes COVID-19 has a low prevalence in dorm wastewater samples, there’s a community site near the Hillcrest area of DeKalb that Hyder said is seeing increasing infections.

“We can’t really tell you what viral levels will correlate to in terms of case numbers or anything,” Hyder said, “but we can say as things trend upward or downward how things are looking, and Hillcrest, the site, is looking more toward the moderate and steadily at that.”

As of Jan. 19, DeKalb County’s COVID-19 transmission rate is at medium level, according to the Illinois Department of Public Health. Health officials recommend taking extra care for those who are immunocompromised or at higher risk of more severe illness, and wearing masks when appropriate indoors where crowd control or social distancing is limited.

Bode said wastewater based epide - miology has a predictive value.

“We often see increases in virus levels in the wastewater before case numbers go up in the community,” Bode said. “So it’s got a predictive value to it as well.”

Now that this means of testing has been proven by the COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a new push to use it for other viruses that chronically affect the community.

This week Hyder will conduct tests

Syed Hyder

to find out if the same process can be used to test for Respiratory Syncytial Virus – known as RSV – as well as types A and B of Influenza in wastewater. In the fall, New York public health officials announced poliovirus had been detected in New York City wastewater after similar tests, The Associated Press reported.

Hyder said in theory testing for other viruses shouldn’t be hard to do.

“We don’t really have to change much of what we’re doing other than getting the primer probe sets, which are virus specific,” Hyder said. “We actually just got the RSV and Influenza primer probe sets today.”

News Briefs

Excellence in Education award grant applications now open

SYCAMORE – The DeKalb County Community Foundation is accepting nominations for deserving education professionals to receive an Excellence in Education Award.

The deadline to submit nominations is Feb. 10, according to a news release.

The Excellence in Education Awards annually honor outstanding teachers, administrators and support staff in DeKalb County. The nominations will be sent to the nominee’s school district for review by the district nomination committee.

Every district in DeKalb County is eligible to nominate a person for each of these areas: Pre-school through fifth grade teacher; sixth through eighth grade teacher; ninth through 12th grade teacher; administration; support staff (secretaries, classroom aides, custodians, food service, bus drivers and maintenance).

The award winners will receive $1,000 and public recognition during an awards ceremony and reception during the summer. To submit a nomination, visit dekalbccf.org/eie.

The awards are made possible through the generosity of Yvonne Johnson, a retired Sycamore School District elementary school teacher. Johnson established the DeKalb County Excellence in Education Award Fund with the DeKalb County Community Foundation in 1999.

For information, call 815-748-5383 or email b.zantout@dekalbccf.org.

Car seat checks offered Jan. 25 in Sycamore

SYCAMORE – Northwestern Medicine will host a free car seat check event for parents and caregivers.

The event will be held from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 25, at the Sycamore Police Department, 535 DeKalb Ave., according to a news release.

Admission is free.

Northwestern Medicine Certified Child Passenger Safety Technicians will complete a car seat safety inspection, as well as educate and provide attendees with assistance on how to properly install car seats. Participants, if possible, must bring their children and the car seat manuals. The appointments take about 30 minutes. Registration is required. To register, call 630-933-4234.

Those unable to attend the event can participate in a virtual car seat education class. During the class, a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician will teach parents and caregivers about current laws and the best ways to keep children safe in a vehicle from birth and beyond. Registration is required to attend the class. To register, visit nm.org/classes and search “car seat safety 101.”

For information, visit nm.org.

– Shaw Local News Network