Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) will publish a special issue on the environmental transport and behavior of the COVID-19 virus, entitled “Environmental Transmission and Control of COVID-19 ” in 2020. The COVID-19 outbreak has created a global public health emergency as a result of its rapid global transmission. Globally the outbreak is still spreading, yet many […]

Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) will publish a special issue on the environmental transport and behavior of the COVID-19 virus, entitled “Environmental Transmission and Control of COVID-19 ” in 2020.

The COVID-19 outbreak has created a global public health emergency as a result of its rapid global transmission. Globally the outbreak is still spreading, yet many factors influencing the environmental behavior and survival of the virus are not well understood. For example:

  • How do environmental factors affect the role of aerosol transmission of the virus?
  • How does the virus survive in different environmental compartments and conditions?
  • What are the environmental impacts of viral spread from the disposal of medical waste and contaminated articles
  • How does this pathogen survive and dissipate in human feces and wastewaters and the wider environment
  • How effective are water disinfection treatments at stopping viral spread and how can we improve the current strategies for containment of the outbreak in the environment?

To contribute key scientific information and build understanding to control the spread and longevity of the virus in the environment, the Guest Editors are organizing this special issue in ES&T on the environmental transmission and control of COVID-19 and other emerging infectious diseases that could help counter current or future outbreaks.

We are cooperating with bioRxiv to readily share information obtained from this call for papers, and further accelerate the efforts of environmental scientists to join forces in combating this global public health threat.

The specific topics of the special issue include (but are not limited to) the following:

  1. Virus sampling technologies, instrumentation, and automated analysis
  2. Virus transport, decay, and environmental transmission
  3. Online and onsite virus detection technology
  4. Environmental impacts of the viral spread, medical waste, and disinfection treatment
  5. Viral spread simulation via droplet, air, and wastewater transmission
  6. Infectious disease transmission and its prediction and modeling
  7. Rapid and effective virus control and countermeasures, including novel personal protective clothing and masks.

The Guest Editors invite important contributions from various environmentally relevant disciplines to this special issue. Please note, contributions should follow the MIQE guidelines when conducting and reporting qPCR measurements.

The Guest Editors for the special issue are:

If you are unsure if your research is within scope or have other questions about submitting a manuscript to this Special Issue, please contact the Guest Editors. The deadline for the submission of manuscripts is October 15, 2020.

Submission Instructions:

To submit your manuscript, please visit the ES&T website. Please follow the normal procedures for manuscript submission and when in the ACS Paragon Plus submission site, select the special issue of “Environmental Transmission and Control of COVID-19”’. All manuscripts will undergo rigorous peer review. For additional submission instructions, please see the ES&T Author Guidelines.

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