Could our toilets hold key clues to the Covid-19 crisis?
Scientists at Newcastle University think examining our waste could help us learn more about the pandemic.
Working with colleagues at the University of Santiago de Compostela, Spain, and water companies Northumbrian Water and Labaqua, they're testing sewage for information about the density of coronavirus cases.
According to the World Health Organization, Sars-Cov-2, the virus which causes the Covid-19 disease, isn't spread through sewage systems. But non-infectious traces of the virus can remain in wastewater in locations where infected people go to the toilet.
Newcastle scientists and engineers say monitoring sewage can't provide an exact number of infected people in a given area but can suggest how concentrated infection is, giving a broader picture of how badly the population has been hit.
The new project, which has been funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Council (EPSRC), is being co-led by Professor David Graham, Professor of Ecosystems Engineering, and Dr Marcos Quintela-Baluja both from Newcastle University, with Professor Jesus Romalde in Santiago.
Professor Graham said: “Without the capacity to test each person individually, particularly people without symptoms, we have limited information about how widespread the virus is or whether it is affecting some communities more than others.
“Sewage epidemiology is now being used around the world in addressing the COVID-19 pandemic. Our work here is to develop local solutions, but also to assist global efforts, by developing tools for predicting spread at a much earlier stage.”
Northumbrian Water’s Wastewater director, Richard Warneford, added: “We’re proud to be working with our partners at Newcastle University on this globally significant project.
“Our wastewater teams are working with their engineers and scientists to safely gather and analyse data and we’re hoping that together we can help make a difference in the battle against Covid-19.”
