Participants sought for new study of how viruses spread

Researchers at the University of Washington School of Medicine's Department of Medicine are enrolling participants across King, Snohomish and Pierce counties for a paid study on how respiratory viruses spread in households and communities. The scientists will track more than 20 distinct viruses, most notably influenza (the flu), respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 virus.

Enrollees will be given home test kits for flu and COVID-19 for a rapid result without waiting for a lab diagnosis.

This study is part of the newly established Community and Household Acute Respiratory Illness Monitoring (CHARM) Network with two other sites. One is at the University of California San Diego and the other is at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is funding the study.

The investigators’ findings could help guide public-health readiness and response efforts to mitigate respiratory virus outbreaks.

“The COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated that we need awareness of how viruses circulate in the community and in which populations they are detected first. Findings from this study should help us understand how well vaccinations prevent infection and help us to be better prepared for future pandemics,” said Dr. Helen Chu.

Chu is the lead investigator of the UW study site, called the Seattle Pandemic Preparedness Cohort (SeaPrep). She is a professor of medicine, Division of Allergy & Infectious Diseases, at the UW School of Medicine, and professor of epidemiology at the UW School of Public Health, where she is also the associate dean for research.

Among the study’s goals are to determine the incidence of viruses in communities, the effect of infections on people’s health and productivity, the ways viruses spread, and the effectiveness of current preventive public health measures, including vaccines.

The study has two parts:

Part A looks at how often people in the community get sick with respiratory infections like colds, the flu or COVID-19. Researchers aim to enroll 2,000 individuals from King, Snohomish and Pierce counties who could participate for up to five years. Part A enrollees will:

• Complete weekly surveys about their health.
• Collect a nasal swab when they report feeling sick.
• Potentially be invited to provide blood samples (particularly from young children and older adults) with an at-home blood-collection device.

Part B is focused on virus transmission within households in King, Snohomish and Pierce counties. Researchers aim to enroll at least 150 households where one member has recently tested positive for a virus. Part B enrollees will:

• Complete daily surveys and nasal swabs for two weeks.
• Provide blood samples at enrollment and after one month with an at-home blood-collection device.
• Participate for approximately 30 days total. (Enrollees may participate multiple times if they get sick again later.)

Participants will be compensated for their time. All study activities in Part A and Part B can be completed from home. Enrollees in both activities will be asked about their vaccination histories. Nasal swab samples collected for research would be returned to the study lab for testing through the U.S. Postal Service or a delivery service. The study will pay the cost of returning the samples.

To join the SeaPrep study, visit uwseaprep.com.

For details about UW Medicine, please visit https://uwmedicine.org/about.