Swab Sampling Recruitment

The Nucleic Acid Observatory (NAO) aims to detect new pandemics more quickly than currently possible. As one of our efforts, we are piloting swab-based surveillance in the Boston metropolitan area. Based on prior research, nasal swabs show high viral loads and could be a promising sample type for detecting rapidly spreading respiratory pathogens.

Here we present real-time data of our surveillance effort, displaying:

All published sequencing data has been scrubbed of human genetic material to ensure privacy.

Cumulative number of samples collected

Samples collected per day

Samples collected per hour

Sampling run metadata

Date Collection Site Compensation Samples collected Sampling duration Swabs/h HV Reads
July 09, 2025 MBTA (Harvard Station) $2 162 4:30 36
July 08, 2025 Boston (State Station) $2 33 2:06 16
July 08, 2025 Boston (State Station) $2 33 2:24 14
July 02, 2025 Boston (State Station) $2 63 1:45 36
June 25, 2025 Boston (Park/Tremont St) $2 87 2:07 41
June 25, 2025 Boston (Park/Tremont St) $2 38 1:30 25
June 25, 2025 Boston (Financial District) $2 25 1:00 25
June 17, 2025 Boston (Park/Tremont St) $2 84 2:00 42
June 17, 2025 Boston (Park/Tremont St) $2 78 2:05 37
June 10, 2025 MBTA (Harvard Station) $2 49 2:15 22
June 10, 2025 MBTA (Harvard Station) $2 47 2:15 21
June 03, 2025 Boston (Park/Tremont St) $2 131 2:15 58 250603-BC-NAS
June 03, 2025 Boston (Financial District) $2 65 1:45 37 250603-OSoS-NAS
March 19, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $4 48 0:51 56 250319-BoDT-SAL
March 19, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $4 48 0:51 56 250319-BoDT-NAS
March 18, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 59 0:50 71 250318-BoDT-NAS
February 26, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 74 0:58 77
February 12, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 47 0:47 60
February 05, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 33 0:42 47
February 04, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 57 0:46 74
January 29, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 60 0:56 64
January 27, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 44 0:40 66 250127-BoDT-NAS
January 23, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 33 0:46 43 250123-BoDT-NAS
January 22, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 37 0:59 38
January 16, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 60 0:52 69 250116-BoDT-NAS
January 15, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 58 0:47 74 250115-BoDT-NAS
January 13, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 33 0:49 40 250113-BoDT-NAS
January 09, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 23 0:50 28
January 09, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 25 0:50 30
January 07, 2025 Boston (Downtown Crossing) $2 37 0:40 56 250107-BoDT-NAS
November 07, 2024 Massachussetts Institute of Technology $2 33 0:47 42 241107-MIT-NAS
October 31, 2024 Massachussetts Institute of Technology $2 30 1:08 26 241031-MIT-NAS
October 10, 2024 Massachussetts Institute of Technology $2 28 0:43 39 241010-MIT-NAS
August 16, 2024 Kendall Square $5 27 0:36 45
July 16, 2024 Kendall Square $5 23 1:00 23
June 18, 2024 Kendall Square $5 27 0:41 40 240618-KEN-NAS
June 17, 2024 Kendall Square $5 26 0:53 29
May 28, 2024 Kendall Square $5 23 0:32 43
May 24, 2024 Kendall Square $5 19 0:40 29
May 21, 2024 Kendall Square $5 26 1:58 13