Water Sector News
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The science of detecting infectious disease in wastewater arrived with the COVID-19 pandemic
Mar 6, 2023
https://gazette.com/news/the-science-of-detecting-infectious-disease-in-wastewater-arrived-with-the-covid-19-pandemic/article_f04f49d8-b9cc-11ed-82ae-8f2bfee72a77.html
An innovative program born out of the COVID-19 pandemic gives new meaning to the old proverb, “waste not, want not.”
Wastewater surveillance, which involves analyzing human feces for indications that people have been infected with SARS-CoV-2, better known as COVID-19, has become world-shattering in a quieter way than the germ.
After nearly three years, the practice is now a vitally important means of tracking the highly infectious disease, experts say.
The science of identifying emerging bodily contamination days before people realize they’re sick is a silver lining amid the detrimental effects of the 21st-century pandemic, said Rick Johnson, laboratory manager for Colorado Springs Utilities.