Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture
Beyond COVID-19, Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture Expands Wastewater Monitoring to Address Public Health Concerns Such as Influenza Respiratory Syntactic Virus and Current Drug-Resistant Fungus Candida auris .
During the pandemic, wastewater monitoring was the proverbial canary in the mines of COVID-19.
Since then, experts have been monitoring wastewater to track COVID-19, flu and respiratory syntactic viruses in Yuma County, which supplies most of the country’s leafy greens during the winter months.
Currently, the State Department of Health and the Yuma Center of Excellence for Desert Agriculture at the University of Arizona are using it in a pilot program to track Candida auris, an elusive drug-resistant disease that spreads in healthcare settings.
Yeast that colonize the body through the bloodstream can cause serious and fatal fungal infections.
In the last three weeks, the number of confirmed cases in Arizona has risen from 37 to 50, approaching last year’s total of 53.
Nearly all cases have occurred in Maricopa County, with a few in Pima, Cochise, Mojave, and none so far in Yuma County.
