Communities and businesses look to mitigate risk and prepare for variant outbreaks through quantitative wastewater monitoring of virus RNA.
Minneapolis, MN, August 12, 2021 – Pace Analytical® Services, LLC, committed to advancing science through innovative services, today announced the expansion of its quantitative COVID-19 wastewater monitoring service to detect virus variants defined by the World Health Organization. Introduced in May 2020, Pace Analytical® was the first commercial scientific laboratory to offer COVID-19 wastewater monitoring.
SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is a single-stranded RNA virus and part of a group of viruses referred to as coronaviruses. Pace Analytical® monitors and analyzes wastewater samples for coronavirus and variant RNA, the genetic signature of a virus.
“Over the past year, Pace has partnered with a variety of organizations to monitor SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in wastewater,” notes Eric Roman, CEO of Pace Analytical®. “This data has proven critical in helping our customers track the spread of COVID-19 and alerting communities to potential increases in infection rates even before clinical diagnoses can be made. The additional investments Pace has made in detecting variants will help our customers create a data-driven response to the ongoing threat of COVID-19.“
Pace Analytical® customers who responded to a recent survey indicated that wastewater monitoring provided an early warning of an outbreak, ranging from 2 days to 2 weeks. “Consistent, routine monitoring provides data that not only indicates the presence of a virus, but the relative level of symptomatic and asymptomatic infections,” said Johnny Mitchell, Chief Technology Officer at Pace Analytical®. “Identifying the presence of the variants within a population can provide additional insight, such as potential changes in transmissibility or the severity of illness caused by a new variant.”
Pace Analytical® COVID-19 monitoring services have helped cities, universities, congregated living facilities, manufacturers, industrial plants, and others better prepare their communities and businesses for potential outbreaks. Pace monitoring services for SARS-CoV-2 and its variants are immediately available.
Pace Analytical® is a portfolio company of Los Angeles-based Aurora Capital Partners.
About Pace Analytical® Services
Pace Analytical® Services, LLC makes the world a safer, healthier place. For decades, Pace has been the trusted source for quality life sciences and environmental lab testing and analysis services and the resource for professional services to support our client’s in-house lab needs. Our work is done in partnership with our clients by providing the service, science, and the data they need to make critical decisions that benefit us all. Pace people advance the science of businesses, industries, consulting firms, government agencies, and more through the largest, American-owned, and nationally certified laboratory network.