This week, coronavirus cases in the UK have hit 11,000, leading to widespread panic about the spread of the virus.
Studies have shown that the virus can survive on surfaces for up to 17 days, and now new research indicates that the virus could also be transmitted through toilet water.
Researchers from Stanford University have looked at the potential threat of the SARS-CoV-2 virus to water sources.
While initial studies indicated that the virus wasn’t excreted in urine or faeces, recently there’s been increasing evidence that the virus, or at least its genome, is excreted in faeces.
If the virus is excreted, then faecal exposure could be a route of transmission, according to Alexandria Boehm, who led the study.
She explained: "It's unlikely this could be a major transmission route, but a person could potentially be exposed by interacting with water contaminated with untreated faecal matter.”
According to engineers, drinking water treatment systems have several barriers in place to remove most viruses.
Thankfully, this means that it’s very unlikely you can catch it from drinking water.
The researchers hope their findings will encourage further research into how the virus survives in the environment.
Krista Wigginton, co-author of the study, said: “If we took a broader approach to studying many kinds of viruses, we could better understand the characteristics driving their environmental fate.”
