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Testing wastewater for traces of coronavirus is helping officials detect outbreaks in areas where relatively few people have been tested.
The government-led scheme is detecting fragments of genetic material from the virus, that leave people’s bodies when they use the bathroom.
Over 90 sewage treatment sites they are now being tested across the UK.
Bangor University researchers work closely with Public Health Wales
The collected data is shared with NHS Test and Trace and decentralized administrations, which are using it in their decision making.
At least 70% of the Welsh population is being monitored by analyzing samples from 24 wastewater treatment sites.
Sewage testing in England only captures 22% of the population with 44 participating plants, but the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said it intends to expand the program.
The initiative extends to 28 other sites in Scotland.
Professor David Graham, who has been analyzing wastewater at Newcastle University, acknowledged that countries like the Netherlands have already implemented it nationwide, but said the UK has prioritized accuracy over speed.
After being asked when this would be introduced nationally, he told Sky News: “I am several steps away from the decision-making process, but I know that overall, the aspiration is to have something that is functional before Christmas.” .
The Starcross laboratory of the Environment Agency, where many analyzes are being carried out
Bangor University professor Davey Jones, who leads wastewater testing in Wales and parts of North West England, told Sky News: “In a perfect world, you wouldn’t need to test wastewater if you were sampling impartial of people.
“The problem we have is that all the tests that we are doing are for symptomatic people. Actually, we are not testing for asymptomatic people.”
Up to 80% of people with the virus are asymptomatic.
A wastewater treatment in Beckton, East London, being tested for COVID-19
He thinks many of them are schoolchildren.
Professor Jones works closely with Public Health Wales, which uses the data provided by his team to help them make decisions about local restrictions.
He said there were concerns about whether English tourists were bringing the infection to Wales, but his research showed no significant problem and was part of the evidence base for leaving the border open.
Sewage sampling uncovered an increase in coronavirus cases in Plymouth
Bangor University and Newcastle University are also monitoring sewage from their student residences, in some cases detecting outbreaks before positive tests are confirmed.
Sewage sampling also uncovered an increase in COVID-19 cases in Plymouth, where local authorities were able to warn residents and healthcare professionals.
Dr Andrew Singer, senior researcher at the UK Center for Ecology and Hydrology, said global efforts to analyze wastewater will not only control the spread of the coronavirus, but will also prevent future pandemics from spiraling out of control.
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“Globally, we are building the capacity to deliver a public health surveillance program that has never existed,” he told Sky News.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Wastewater monitoring and sampling offers another tool to help us identify outbreaks early on, helping NHS Test and Trace and local authorities identify hotspots quickly and effectively. “.
Traces of coronavirus in wastewater are not infectious, according to the World Health Organization.
