Monitoring sewage will provide early warning on local outbreaks

MONITORING sewage to detect Covid19 outbreaks is effective, the Government has revealed as it plans to expand the programme across the country.

The programme to analyse sewage for traces of coronavirus will now be used to provide an early warning for local outbreaks, especially in those areas with low testing.

It can also give a clearer picture of asymptomatic spread, and show a surge before people develop symptoms.

Officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said the trials, which have taken place since June, show the method is successfully detecting fragments of genetic material from the virus.

Data from this testing, which has been rolled out to more than 90 waste water treatment sites across the UK, are being shared with the Joint Biosecurity Centre as part of NHS Test and Trace.

Fragments of the coronavirus are passed out from people’s bodies when they go to the lavatory. The detection of the material, which is not infectious, can indicate when a local community is having a spike in cases.

Defra said the project had already worked successfully in an area of southwest England, where sewage sampling showed a spike in coronavirus material despite relatively few people getting tested. The information was passed on to NHS Test and Trace and the local council who were able to alert health professionals to the increased risk and contact people in the area to warn of the rise in cases.

There are 44 sites in England where sampling is being done, covering 22 per cent of the population, with plans to roll it out further. There are also 24 sites in Wales and 28 in Scotland where sampling is being done.

George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, said: “This is a significant step forward in giving us a clearer idea of infection rates, particularly in areas where there may be large numbers of people who aren’t showing any symptoms and therefore aren’t seeking tests.”

Other viruses, including norovirus and hepatitis, are monitored year-round in sewage by scientists, so they can detect any change in spread of the diseases in the population.