People with viral infections shed traces wherever they go. Now, if we could trace their movements in real time, we should be able to track down their contacts faster. Mass testing and phone apps are already helping. However, we may have been overlooking the obvious and that’s virus in our poo. Scientists in UK are chasing the coronavirus down sewers and have a reliable test for waste water.
Chasing the Coronavirus Down Sewers Using Sewage Epidemiology
This technique has been in use for other purposes since 2001 according to Environmental Health Perspective. That’s because tests enabled researchers to gauge drug use in communities with different personas in 2001. Then, by April 2020 Environ International Ltd was actively exploring the possibility of monitoring infectious disease spread and community resistance.
Now, the Center for Ecology and Hydrology in UK is coordinating a team collecting untreated sewage samples. This is the first step towards mapping the COVID-19 outbreak through the nation’s sewers. They hope to narrow the outbreak down to smaller geographical areas, by chasing the coronavirus down sewers using sewage epidemiology.
Six Laboratories on Standby to Research Untreated Sewage Samples
Lead researcher Andrew Singer told BBC the goal is to find traces sooner, and intervene faster. There are already six laboratories on standby to begin testing. Moreover, he hopes to be able to start a national surveillance system by moving beyond genetic testing.
That’s because genetic testing is a crude measure of whether the virus is there or not. However, Andrew Singer and his colleagues have developed a method to quantify the amount of virus, and so estimate how many people are involved within a day.
They are currently working on ways to manage the impact of other contaminants in the water. It seems obvious that we should be doing this, Andrew Singer says. However, chasing the coronavirus down sewers has never been considered for an active outbreak before.
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Linking COVID-19 and Gastro Infections
Preview Image: Sewage Treatment Process
