Similar "Real Time" Sewage Programmes In Place Elsewhere10 Feb 2022 08:53
Similar Covid wastewater testing programmes are in place across the UK, with Scotland's extended until March 2022.
The United States this week announced its own sewage surveillance system through the Centre for Disease Control.
“COVID-19 has been a huge learning curve for virology, and our wastewater testing has been able to identify new variants of the virus in almost real-time, so we welcome its expansion across Wales," said Professor David Jones from Bangor University’s School of Natural Sciences, who co-leads the development of the testing technology.
"We know that the faster the data can be produced, the better informed public health officials can be in making important decisions about the measures needed.”
Wastewater monitoring is considered a helpful tool by scientists, though legal and ethical concerns have been raised by some, largely relating to the handling of samples that contain genetic material, as well as how the data would be used - for example, if states were to impose lockdown restrictions on a certain area based on Covid levels in their sewage.