Your Questions Answered
Question: How does UC San Diego’s wastewater monitoring work?
Answer: People infected with SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, are known to shed it in their waste, even if they aren’t experiencing any symptoms. With that in mind, UC San Diego School of Medicine researchers have been screening wastewater from campus buildings for signs of the virus since the summer of 2020. The team has been able to detect up to a single infected, asymptomatic person living or working in a large building. The approach has
enabled early detection of 85 percent of COVID-19 cases on the campus, which promotes COVID-19 testing as early as possible so that infected individuals can get care, isolate themselves, and avoid infecting others.
UC San Diego researchers have now
added monkeypox to the campus’s wastewater surveillance program. The system is not yet set up to sequence monkeypox genomes–a means to detect emerging variants–but researchers note that DNA viruses evolve a lot slower than RNA viruses and they do not expect variants to emerge and spread as quickly.
Question: How can I find out whether the building I live or work in on campus has a positive wastewater signal?
Answer: You can use the map on the
COVID-19 Daily Dashboard to determine if your building is currently being monitored, and if so, the status of the wastewater signal associated with the building. If your building is associated with a positive wastewater signal, it may mean that there are one or more infected individuals in the building.
If you have visited a building on campus associated with a positive wastewater signal on that day, out of an abundance of caution, you should
get tested promptly. If the signal persists in a building you visit more than once a week, twice-weekly testing is recommended. If you develop COVID-19 symptoms, please wear a mask and reconsider socializing with others while you await test results.
Question: What is monkeypox?
Answer: Monkeypox is a rare disease caused by infection with the monkeypox virus, part of the same family of viruses that cause smallpox. Monkeypox symptoms, which include painful or itchy rashes, fever, low energy and swollen lymph nodes, are similar to smallpox symptoms, but milder and monkeypox is rarely fatal. Monkeypox is not related to chickenpox.
Monkeypox spreads primarily through direct contact with infectious sores, scabs or body fluids during activities like kissing, hugging, massaging, cuddling and sex. Monkeypox can spread through touching materials used by a person with monkeypox that haven’t been cleaned, such as clothing and bedding. It can also spread by respiratory secretions during prolonged, close, face-to-face contact. It is not spread through brief conversations or walking by someone with monkeypox.
Learn more about monkeypox.