Ultimately, the latter could be used as an additional “early indicator” in monitoring the epidemic.
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A team of researchers from UAnvers, KU Leuven, UGent, Aquafin and the Flemish Environment Agency (Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij) are investigating whether wastewater monitoring in Flanders could be used as a system observation to map coronavirus contaminations.
The group hopes that this monitoring can be used systematically and on a large scale to quickly identify foci of contamination, Aquafin announced in a statement on Monday.
The coronavirus enters sewage through human faeces. From there, it is transported to one of the 300 Aquafin treatment plants. Recent literature indicates that regular monitoring of wastewater could provide an idea of the spread of the virus and the increase or decrease in the number of infections in the population. The spread is believed to be visible in sewage for up to six days before symptoms of the virus appear.
“This makes wastewater research a valuable tool for quickly detecting a possible resurgence of the virus and could allow for immediate intervention,” says Professor Alexander Van Nuijs of UAnvers. “As an early observation system, it could be added, among other things, to patient screenings and to the number of hospital admissions, in order to follow the evolution of contaminations”, adds Professor Lies Lahousse ( UGent).
The consortium of researchers is currently studying the issue. The 24-hour samples taken by UAnvers and KU Leuven at several Aquafin wastewater treatment plants in autumn 2019 have been kept. They will be subject to further examination after optimization of the analytical method. “We will then statistically process the data and examine to what extent the results correspond to the available epidemiological data, such as the number of infections and hospital admissions”, says Professor Peter Delputte (UAnvers).
The Flemish agency for care and health (Agentschap Zorg en Gezondheid) is looking into this study in order to define a working method around the monitoring of wastewater in Flanders. Ultimately, the latter could be used as an additional “early indicator” in monitoring the epidemic.
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