Dr Kata Farkas
Environmental Virologist
Contact info
Environment Centre Wales
School of Natural Sciences
Bangor University
Bangor LL57 2UW, UK
Phone: +44 (0) 1248 382615
Email: k.farkas@bangor.ac.uk
I competed my PhD in microbiology at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand in 2014. My research focused on the fate and behaviour of enteric viruses in groundwater. After finishing my studies, I was involved in various project that uses viral metagenomics approaches to identify viruses (both known and novel) in various ecosystems. Since 2015, I have been working at the Bangor University, on the Viraqua Project (www.viraqua.uk; 2015-2018) and at the Shellfish Centre (2019-onward).
My research focuses on the ecology and survival of viruses in the aquatic environment with a special interest in the fate of enteric viruses. Enteric viruses are responsible for the majority of gastroenteral illnesses globally putting an enormous burden on healthcare systems and the wider economy. These pathogens are often found in water reservoirs (recreational and drinking water sources, shellfish harvesting areas) and hence responsible for water- and foodborne outbreaks. I design and validate methods for the recovery of enteric viruses in the aquatic environment in order to quantify infectious viruses, understand viral ecology, describe novel and emerging strains and model viral transport in the environment.
- Review article › Research › Peer-reviewed
- Published
Shedding of SARS-CoV-2 in feces and urine and its potential role in person-to-person transmission and the environment-based spread of COVID-19
Jones, D. L., Baluja, M. Q., Graham, D. W., Corbishley, A., McDonald, J. E., Malham, S. K., Hillary, L. S., Connor, T. R., Gaze, W. H., Moura, I. B., Wilcox, M. H. & Farkas, K., 20 Dec 2020, In: Science of the Total Environment. 749, 141364.Research output: Contribution to journal › Review article › peer-review
- Editorial › Research › Peer-reviewed
- Published
Wastewater-Based Epidemiology: Global Collaborative to Maximize Contributions in the Fight Against COVID-19
Bivins, A., North, D., Ahmad, A., Ahmed, W., Alm, E., Been, F., Bhattacharya, P., Bijlsma, L., Boehm, A. B., Brown, J., Buttiglieri, G., Calabro, V., Carducci, A., Castiglioni, S., Gurol, Z. C., Chakraborty, S., Costa, F., Curcio, S., de los Reyes, F. L. . III., Vela, J. D., Farkas, K., Fernandez-Casi, X., Gerba, C., Gerrity, D., Girones, R., Gonzalez, R., Haramoto, E., Harris, A., Holden, P. A., Islam, M. T., Jones, D. L., Kasprzyk-Hordern, B., Kitajima, M., Kotlarz, N., Kumar, M., Kuroda, K., La Rosa, G., Malpei, F., Mautus, M., McLellan, S. L., Medema, G., Meschke, J. S., Mueller, J., Newton, R. J., Nilsson, D., Noble, R. T., van Nuijs, A., Peccia, J., Perkins, T. A., Pickering, A. J., Rose, J., Sanchez, G., Smith, A., Stadler, L., Stauber, C., Thomas, K., van der Voorn, T., Wigginton, K., Zhu, K. & Bibby, K., 7 Jul 2020, In: Environmental Science and Technology. 54, 13, p. 7754-7757Research output: Contribution to journal › Editorial › peer-review
- Article › Research › Peer-reviewed
- Published
A Gel Filtration-Based Method for the Purification of Infectious Rotavirus Particles for Environmental Research Applications
Farkas, K., Pang, L., Lin, S., Williamson, W., Easingwood, R., Fredericks, R., Jaffer, M. A. & Varsani, A., 1 Dec 2013, In: Food and Environmental Virology. 5, 4, p. 231-235Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
A comparison of precipitation and filtration-based SARS-CoV-2 recovery methods and the influence of temperature, turbidity, and surfactant load in urban wastewater
Kevill, J. L., Pellett, C., Farkas, K., Brown, M. R., Bassano, I., Denise, H., McDonald, J. E., Malham, S. K., Porter, J., Warren, J., Evens, N. P., Paterson, S., Singer, A. C. & Jones, D. L., 20 Feb 2022, In: Science of the Total Environment. 808, 151916.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Abundance and Distribution of Enteric Bacteria and Viruses in Coastal and Estuarine Sediments—a Review
Hassard, F., Gwyther, C. L., Farkas, K., Andrews, A., Jones, V., Cox, B., Brett, H., Jones, D., McDonald, J. & Malham, S., 1 Nov 2016, In: Frontiers in Microbiology.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Adsorption of Rotavirus, MS2 Bacteriophage and Surface-Modified Silica Nanoparticles to Hydrophobic Matter
Farkas, K., Pang, L. & Varsani, A., 1 Sept 2015, In: Food and Environmental Virology. 7, 3, p. 261-268Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Assessment of two types of passive sampler for the efficient recovery of SARS-CoV-2 and other viruses from wastewater
Kevill, J. L., Lambert-Slosarska, K., Pellett, C., Woodhall, N., Richardson-O'Neill, I., Pantea, I., Alex-Sanders, N., Farkas, K. & Jones, D. L., 10 Sept 2022, In: Science of the Total Environment. 838, 4, 156580.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Assessment of wastewater derived pollution using viral monitoring in two estuaries
Farkas, K., Mannion, F., Sorby, R., Winterbourn, B., Allender, S., Gregory, C. G. M., Holding, P., Thorpe, J. M., Malham, S. K. & Le Vay, L., 1 Mar 2024, In: Marine pollution bulletin. 200, 116081.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Attenuation and transport of human enteric viruses and bacteriophage MS2 in alluvial sand and gravel aquifer media-laboratory studies
Pang, L., Farkas, K., Lin, S., Hewitt, J., Premaratne, A. & Close, M., 15 May 2021, In: Water research. 196, 117051.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
City-wide wastewater genomic surveillance through the successive emergence of SARS-CoV-2 Alpha and Delta variants
Brunner, F. S., Brown, M. R., Bassano, I., Denise, H., Khalifa, M. S., Wade, M. J., van Aerle, R., Kevill, J. L., Jones, D. L., Farkas, K., Jeffries, A. R., Cairns, E., Wierzbicki, C. & Paterson, S., 1 Nov 2022, In: Water research. 226, 119306.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Comparative Assessment of Filtration- and Precipitation-Based Methods for the Concentration of SARS-CoV-2 and Other Viruses from Wastewater
Farkas, K., Pellett, C., Alex-Sanders, N., Bridgman, M. T. P., Corbishley, A., Grimsley, J. M. S., Kasprzyk-Hordern, B., Kevill, J. L., Pantea, I., Richardson-O'Neill, I. S., Lambert-Slosarska, K., Woodhall, N. & Jones, D. L., 31 Aug 2022, In: Microbiology Spectrum. 10, 4, 16 p., spectrum.01102-22.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
Comparative assessment of Nanotrap and polyethylene glycol-based virus concentration in wastewater samples
Farkas, K., Kevill, J. L., Williams, R. C., Pântea, I., Ridding, N., Lambert-Slosarska, K., Woodhall, N., Grimsley, J. M. S., Wade, M. J., Singer, A. C., Weightman, A. J., Cross, G. & Jones, D. L., 5 Mar 2024, (E-pub ahead of print) In: FEMS microbes. 5, xtae007.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Comparison of virus concentration methods for the RT-qPCR-based recovery of murine hepatitis virus, a surrogate for SARS-CoV-2 from untreated wastewater
Ahmed, W., Bertsch, P., Bivins, A., Bibby, K., Farkas, K., Gathercole, A., Haramoto, E., Gyawali, P., Korajkic, A., McMinn, B., Mueller, J., Simpson, S., Smith, W., Symonds, E., Thomas, K., Verhagen, R. & Kitajima, M., 15 Oct 2020, In: Science of the Total Environment. 739, 139960.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Concentration and Quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in Wastewater Using Polyethylene Glycol-Based Concentration and qRT-PCR.(vol 4, 17, 2021)
Farkas, K., Hillary, L. S., Thorpe, J., Walker, D. I., Lowther, J. A., McDonald, J. E., Malham, S. K. & Jones, D. L., 12 Nov 2021, In: Methods and Protocols. 4, 4Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Concentration and quantification of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater using polyethylene glycol-based concentration and qRT-PCR
Farkas, K., Hillary, L., Thorpe, J., Walker, D., Lowther, J. A., McDonald, J., Malham, S. & Jones, D. L., 23 Feb 2021, In: Methods and Protocols. 4, 1, 10 p., 17.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Critical Evaluation of CrAssphage as a Molecular Marker for Human-Derived Wastewater Contamination in the Aquatic Environment
Farkas, K., Adriaenssens, E. M., Walker, D. I., McDonald, J., Malham, S. & Jones, D. L., 1 Jun 2019, In: Food and Environmental Virology. 11, 2, p. 113-119Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Critical Evaluation of Different Passive Sampler Materials and Approaches for the Recovery of SARS-CoV-2, Faecal-Indicator Viruses and Bacteria from Wastewater
Jones, D. L., Grimsley, J. M. S., Kevill, J. L., Williams, R., Pellett, C., Lambert-Slosarska, K., Singer, A. C., Williams, G. B., Bargiela, R., Brown, R. W., Agency, UK. & Farkas, K., 6 Nov 2022, In: Water. 14, 21, 3568.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
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Detection and genotype analysis of Giardia duodenalis from asymptomatic Hungarian inhabitants and comparative findings in three distinct locations
Plutzer, J., Torokne, A., Szenasi, Z., Kucsera, I., Farkas, K. & Karanis, P., Mar 2014, In: Acta Microbiologica et Immunologica Hungarica. 61, 1, p. 19-26Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Development and validation of a duplex RT-qPCR assay for norovirus quantification in wastewater samples
Alex-Sanders, N., Woodhall, N., Farkas, K., Scott, G., Jones, D. L. & Walker, D. I., 1 Nov 2023, In: Journal of Virological Methods. 321, 114804.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Diurnal changes in pathogenic and indicator virus concentrations in wastewater
Farkas, K., Pântea, I., Woodhall, N., Williams, D., Lambert-Slosarska, K., Williams, R. C., Grimsley, J. M. S., Singer, A. C. & Jones, D. L., Dec 2023, In: Environmental Science and Pollution Research. 30, 59, p. 123785-123795 11 p.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Emerging technologies for the rapid detection of enteric viruses in the aquatic environment
Farkas, K., Mannion, F., Hillary, L., Malham, S. & Walker, D., Aug 2020, In: Current Opinion in Environmental Science & Health. 16, p. 1-6Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Evaluation of Molecular Methods for the Detection and Quantification of Pathogen-Derived Nucleic Acids in Sediment
Farkas, K., Hassard, F., McDonald, J., Malham, S. & Jones, D., 24 Jan 2017, In: Frontiers in Microbiology. 6, p. 1-12 53.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Evaluation of Two Triplex One-Step qRT-PCR Assays for the Quantification of Human Enteric Viruses in Environmental Samples
Farkas, K., Peters, D. E., McDonald, J., de Rougemont, A., Malham, S. & Jones, D., Sept 2017, In: Food and Environmental Virology. 9, 3, p. 342-349Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Fish polyomaviruses belong to two distinct evolutionary lineages
Van Doorslaer, K., Kraberger, S., Austin, C., Farkas, K., Bergeman, M., Paunil, E., Davison, W. & Varsani, A., 8 Mar 2018, In: Journal of General Virology. 99, 4, p. 567-573Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review
- Published
Genome sequence of a diverse goose circovirus recovered from greylag goose
Stenzel, T., Farkas, K. & Varsani, A., 30 Jul 2015, In: Genome Announcements. 3, 4, e00767-15.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review