Covid-19

Two UF EPI infectious disease experts are part of a new CDC-funded outbreak analytics and disease modeling network

New research reveals that intense COVID-19 viral exposure may diminish the shielding effects of vaccination and previous infection, resulting in “leaky” protection.

Antibodies to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, were present in the blood of 96.4% of Americans over the age of 16 by September 2022.

For their study, the investigators, who are also members of UF’s Emerging Pathogens Institute, evaluated population normalization factors, which are used to determine the relative human fecal contribution in a sample. With this information, scientists can control for fluctuations in the population contributing to a wastewater sample throughout time while quantifying the SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentrations.

UF biostatisticians confirm in a recent meta-analysis that getting vaccinated against COVID-19 and getting a booster or two is the best way to protect against severe outcomes.

The Emerging Pathogens Institute’s annual Research Day event celebrates pathogens research and the people who work in this critical academic space. After three years of meeting virtually, the event was held in person at the Reitz Union on Feb. 16, 2023 on the University of Florida’s campus. Researchers and students exhibited 123 abstracts and posters that probed pathogens and infectious diseases topics spanning from lab research to field investigations and bioinformatic analyses.

This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (round blue objects) emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. SARS-CoV-2 causes COVID-19. (Image captured and colorized at NIAID’s Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton, Montana. Credit: NIAID) Researchers can measure how effective a vaccine is at preventing disease…

Experts in viral evolution and artificial intelligence are teaming up to create an algorithm capable of predicting novel coronavirus variants before they become public health threats. They will also study how the coronavirus mutates in people coinfected with HIV and COVID-19 to better understand how variants emerge.

University of Florida researchers are refining wastewater surveillance techniques—a public health tool dating to the 1940s—to monitor cities, neighborhoods, and individual buildings for traces of COVID-19, fentanyl, and pesticides.

A UF mathematician collaborates with Yale School of Public Health researchers to evaluate the agreement of results between PCR testing and 18 commercially available rapid antigen tests for decision-making in remote work settings on when to end an individual's quarantine.