Sault-area nursing homes involved in COVID-19 study
A group of researchers are working on a means of detecting COVID-19 outbreaks in long-term care homes - days before they occur.
A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine involved 10 long-term care facilities in Ontario - two of which are in Sault Ste. Marie.
The FJ Davey Home and the Finnish Rest Home served as test sites for the study, which involved swabbing the floors of high-traffic areas, including hallways, eating areas and staff locker rooms.
“We’d swab the same location every week, (and) we made sure we were comparing the same areas over time,” said Mike Fralick, the lead study author and a clinician scientist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto.
“Essentially in doing so, we could then monitor and determine how the amount of virus changes from week to week and how that correlates with an outbreak.”
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Fralick likens the search for evidence of COVID-19 to a crime scene investigation.
“Sort of like of ‘CSI,’ and trying to pin the crime on whoever ‘dunnit,’ you could find their fingerprints, or you could find a person’s DNA,” said Fralick.
“It’s a very similar principle, but instead, we’re finding the genetic material for the virus, because, we know its genetic makeup, we know what its fingerprint looks like.”
Fralick says the study was conducted from September 2021 to November 2022 and the next step is implementing the study’s findings. A pilot project to that effect is in the works.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
DEVELOPING Slovakia's populist prime minister shot multiple times in attempted assassination
Slovakia's populist Prime Minister Robert Fico is in life-threatening condition after being wounded in a shooting after a political event Wednesday afternoon, according to his Facebook profile.
Transport Canada's UFO 'lead' planned to meet with U.S. intel officials, called info requests a 'wild goose chase'
Canada's transportation department had a UFO 'lead' who tried to 'quell' media interest and planned to meet with U.S. intelligence officials.
'Very expensive lunch': Sask. driver handed a cell phone ticket for using points app in McDonald's drive-thru
A warning from a Saskatoon driver about using your fast-food app while in the drive-thru line — a trip to get some free lunch cost him a lot more than he bargained for.
'The Fly' has become notorious in France after a brazen escape. What's his criminal history?
A prisoner nicknamed “The Fly” has become notorious in France overnight after a daring and bloody escape from a prison convoy in Normandy that left two guards dead.
BREAKING Ontario's 'crypto king' Aiden Pleterski arrested
Aiden Pleterski, the self-proclaimed 'crypto king' from Whitby, Ont., has been arrested in Durham Region after allegedly running a Ponzi scheme worth more than $40 million.
BREAKING Barge hits a bridge in Texas, damaging the structure and causing an oil spill
A barge hit a bridge in Galveston, Texas, on Wednesday, spilling oil into surrounding waters and closing the only road to a small island, officials said.
Person responsible for 1996 drugging of 'Titanic' crew likely not a local: Halifax police
Halifax Regional Police believe a non-resident could be responsible for the infamous drugging of numerous crew members of the 'Titanic' movie with a hallucinogenic in 1996.
Latest updates on the biggest wildfires burning in Canada
Thousands of people in Western Canada remain displaced from their homes as wildfires threaten their communities, triggering evacuation orders and alerts.
OPINION Your attention span is shrinking, studies say. Here's how to stay focused: Sandee LaMotte
Regaining your focus requires you to be mindful of how you are using technology -- a daunting task if you consider the average American spends at least 10 hours a day on screens.