KWR in the news G.J. Medema - "Sewage surveillance" may be early warning tool in fight against COVID-19, says one study

“A new study in the Netherlands has found the coronavirus in sewage — and in one Dutch city, the coronavirus was detected in the sewage system days before any cases were officially confirmed through human testing.
The researchers behind the study, which has not been peer-reviewed, hope their findings can help authorities detect early warning signs for cities if the virus enters or reemerges in a community — especially if testing is limited. Although the researchers found that the coronavirus can pass through human intestines into sewage systems, early data show that the virus dies quickly — meaning the virus is unlikely to be transmitted via urban sewage systems.
Gertjan Medema, one of the authors of the report, is a microbiologist at the KWR Water Research Institute and a professor of water and health at Delft University of Technology. He spoke to The World’s host Marco Werman about how “sewer surveillance” can be an important tracking tool for communities dealing with the pandemic.”

(Citation: Werman, M. – KWR in the news G.J. Medema – “Sewage surveillance” may be early warning tool in fight against COVID-19, says one study – www.pri.org (2020)20 April)