COVID-19: TRACKING EVIDENCE OF THE VIRUS IN WASTEWATER

Back last summer, I reported that studies earlier in 2020 indicated that viral RNA appears in wastewater sewerage 2-3 weeks before hospitalisations in that area.  That provides early warning of viral spread, including the spread of new variants.

In Holland, sewerage is tested regularly for drugs, and they have extended their testing to cover SARS2 viral RNA.  Other countries are following suit, including the UK.

Here is a graph of the results of that original research, with the red line for viral RNA leading new cases confirmed by testing people:

 

Holland has incorporated testing results publicly into the COVID dashboard, including this map of the country:

Other countries are also monitoring sewerage, but the dashboard for the UK does not yet include that information.

 

Professor Davey Jones from Bangor University says "All the evidence suggests that we can potentially see a signal in wastewater before we see a spike in infections in the community."

 

In more recent months, the emergence of variants has meant that it is important to track their spread.  Sewerage testing is proving very useful for this purpose.

Michael Gross has today had an article published in the "Current Biology" journal which explores the use of this technique internationally, with an introduction and link in his blog. Well worth a read!