To date, Colorado State University has processed more than 110,000 saliva samples as part of its communitywide effort to keep COVID-19 outbreaks at bay.

CSU’s saliva screening lab, headed by microbiologist Mark Zabel in the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, has developed an inexpensive, efficient way to detect the presence of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19. While the lab batch-processes samples to save time and money, individual samples are kept separate so that if the virus is found, it is easy to isolate the sample with virus present. Then, only that person whose saliva indicates the virus is present is instructed to take an additional, follow-up nasal swab test.

Weekly screening is mandatory for all students living in university housing, all students in fraternities and sororities, all students in any face-to-face or hybrid course, all staff who are regularly on campus or other university grounds, and all faculty, instructors and graduate teaching assistants who teach a face-to-face or laboratory class or are regularly on campus or other university grounds. Register for screening.