Clean Water Current
Fast-spreading UK variant of coronavirus detected in wastewater samples throughout Missouri
Recent wastewater samples from communities across Missouri have identified the presence of the faster-spreading UK variant of the coronavirus, state health officials have announced.
A press release from the Missouri health department about the discovery offered few details except that the variant was “not highly prevalent” in the samples.
Researchers at the University of Missouri-Columbia created the Coronavirus Sewershed Surveillance Project in partnership with the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services and Department of Natural Resources.
Since June, the researchers have been testing up to 59 community wastewater facilities across the state to detect the presence of the coronavirus. Earlier this month, the team began sequencing the genomes of the virus samples in an effort to identify emerging variants.