Coronaviruses in wastewater: researchers develop early warning system!

As early as March, Dutch researchers reported that Sars-CoV-2 was found in wastewater. Now German scientists have been able to develop a method to use these wastewater viruses as an early warning system for corona infections.

–


–

How many people are infected in a church? At the advanced stage of the coronavirus pandemic, it is hardly possible to trace infection chains. But a new method gives hope: a An early warning system about our wastewater could protect against the coronavirus.

Corona early warning system? Researchers find viruses in wastewater

Dutch researchers had already found the Sars-CoV-2 virus in the wastewater of a community in March – interestingly, before the first corona infections became known there. The researchers were already talking about being able to develop a kind of early warning system, as reported by the Bloomberg news agency and “welt.de” at the end of March.

The find also showed that the coronavirus is often excreted in the stool of an infected person. On the other hand, it is unlikely that wastewater will become an important transmission path for the disease, according to microbiologist Gertjan Medema and his colleagues from the KWR water research institute in Nieuwegein.

BUT: With the rapid spread of the corona virus, the amount of the pathogen in the sewers is also increasing.

The details of the coronavirus discovery

On March 5, the researchers discovered genetic material of the coronavirus in a sewage treatment plant in Amersfoort – even before the first cases were reported in the city located about 50 kilometers southeast of Amsterdam.

“It is important to collect information about the occurrence and fate of this new virus in sewage, in order to understand that there is no risk for the sewage workers, but also to determine whether the sewage monitoring system to monitor the circulation of Sars-CoV- 2 could be used in our communities, “explained Medema, the institute’s chief microbiologist. “This could complement current clinical surveillance, which is limited to those Covid-19 patients with the most severe symptoms.”

Is wastewater monitoring becoming an important tool?

The detection of viruses in wastewater is not new. Wastewater monitoring is a well-established method for detecting the poliovirus and antibiotic-resistant bacteria as well as the use of illegal and prescription drugs.

Now researchers from Aachen and Frankfurt have taken up the whole thing and developed a method by examining certain genes of the virus to monitor corona infections via the wastewater. Because even genetic material from Sars-CoV-2 can be detected with modern molecular methods in sewage treatment plants, according to the RWTH Aachen. In this way, one can draw conclusions about the number of people infected with Covid-19 in the catchment area of ​​the plant via the measured “virus load” in a sewage treatment plant. The sensitivity is sufficient to indicate, as an early warning system, “whether the measure value of 50 incidences per 100,000 inhabitants is exceeded”, explains the university in a letter.

The Dutch researchers had already touted the possible early warning system before Sars-CoV-2: “The detection of the virus in wastewater – even if the prevalence of Covid-19 is low – indicates that wastewater monitoring is a crucial tool for monitoring circulation of the virus could be in the population. “

Virus components found are not infectious

So now things are moving forward: The Aachen and Frankfurt scientists now want to make their findings available for “early application” and coordinate with the authorities on this. However, the method still has one negative point: the number of unreported cases of infected people who are not recorded using laboratory tests has not yet allowed their method. But there is still room for improvement and the process must be more precise, explains Frank-Andreas Weber from the non-profit research institute for water and waste management at RWTH Aachen University to the Frankfurter Rundschau.

Another reassuring news: The fragments of the Sars-CoV-2 coronavirus detected in the wastewater are not infectious, according to the researchers. Nevertheless, wastewater is still being investigated as a possible transmission route for the virus. Because the fact that traces of the virus can be detected in the wastewater is definitely questionable, explains Harald Horn, professor of water chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology on Deutschlandfunk. In Germany, wastewater is treated chemically and is therefore harmless. In other countries, however, such as Israel, wastewater is often used directly for irrigation in agriculture. There is a risk that the virus could come into contact with food and possibly infect people. But here, too, there is still a lot of research to be done.

Do you want to get a general overview of the coronavirus? Then take a look at our video:

You can find more information on our detailed topic page on Coronavirus.

– .