| PROJECT | SARSAigua2023 - The Catalan Surveillance Network of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage |
FUNDING AGENCY
Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya. Code: SA-2023-259
DURATION
2023-2023
COORDINATOR
Institut Català de Recerca de l'Aigua (ICRA)
LEAD RESEARCHER
Dr. Carles Borrego - Co IP: Dr. Lluís Corominas
RESEARCHER
Dr. Laura Guerrero - Dr. Neus Collado
AMOUNT FOR THE ICRA
86.776,86€
The Catalan Surveillance Network of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage (SARSAIGUA), which started in July 2020 to monitor the prevalence of SARS-CoV-2 in the Catalan territory through the analysis of genetic traces of the virus in wastewater, continues its activity during 2023. This renewal will allow providing data on the abundance of SARS-CoV-2 and the diversity of its variants in wastewater as an additional indicator of the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Catalonia to complement the epidemiological surveillance carried out through the Information System for the Surveillance of Infections in Catalonia (SIVIC). In this new stage, SARSAIGUA prioritizes the detection and identification of SARS-CoV-2 variants to early detect their introduction and circulation in the territory.
SARSAIGUA is funded by the Department of Health of the Generalitat de Catalunya and the Catalan Water Agency, with the participation of expert research groups on "Enteric Viruses" and "Contaminating Viruses in Water and Food" of the University of Barcelona and the Biotechnology area of EURECAT. ICRA continues its role as a scientific and technical coordinator.
