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:
- Total samples collected to date
- Collection rate for each sampling run (samples/hour)
- Detected viral reads from human-infecting pathogens
All published sequencing data has been scrubbed of human genetic material to ensure privacy.
Cumulative number of samples collected
Samples collected per hour
Sampling run metadata
| Date | Collection Site | Compensation | Samples collected | Sampling duration | Swabs/h | HV Reads |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 (Financial District) | $2 | 65 | 1:45 | 37 | |
| June 03, 2025 | Boston (Park/Tremont St) | $2 | 131 | 2:15 | 58 | |
| March 19, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $4 | 48 | 0:51 | 56 | |
| March 19, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $4 | 48 | 0:51 | 56 | |
| March 18, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 59 | 0:50 | 71 | |
| 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 | 25 | 0:50 | 30 | |
| January 09, 2025 | Boston (Downtown Crossing) | $2 | 23 | 0:50 | 28 | |
| 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 |