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Early warning signs of Covid-19 can be identified in sewage, trials have shown, with the first incidence of the virus in London’s wastewater tracked back to February – before cases were confirmed there.
Work carried out by the National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC) showed high levels of virus material in the capital’s sewers detected in March and April followed by a considerable decrease in May and June.
The research was revealed as the government updated on trials, first announced in June, that have successfully detected fragments of genetic material from the virus in sewage from the south west of England.
The government said this was key to identifying asymptomatic carriers and allowing local authorities to take early action.
The data will now be shared with NHS Test and Trace and inform where new outbreaks may be happening.
Testing has now been rolled out across more than 90 wastewater treatment sites in the UK, covering approximately 22 per cent of the population in England, with plans to expand in the future.
Environment secretary George Eustice said: “This is a significant step forward in giving us a clearer idea of infection rates both nationally and locally, particularly in areas where there may be large numbers of people who aren’t showing any symptoms and therefore aren’t seeking tests.
“We are continuing to look at how this programme can be refined as one of the many measures we’re using to slow the spread of the virus and protect local communities.”
Dr Davey Jones, Professor of Soil & Environmental Science at Bangor University, said: “We have been monitoring viruses like Norovirus and Hepatitis in human sewage for the last decade, as part of a programme to evaluate levels of these viruses in the community. We added Covid-19 to the surveillance list in March this year.
“We showed that viral levels in wastewater mapped really well onto the success of lockdown measures in the first Covid-19 wave and to the emergence of the second wave. We are now using it to track the emergence and control of Covid-19 cases and working on new pilots to map the virus at both the local and the regional scale.”
Professor Dame Ottoline Leyser, chief executive of UK Research and Innovation, said: “This research shows that our wastewater system can be used to identify coronavirus hotspots early, which could significantly help our ability to contain local outbreaks.”
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