UK might use sewage to track coronavirus hotspots

Scientists are hoping sewage could help them track coronavirus hotspots in the event of a second wave of the pandemic.

Experts in waste water from around the world are researching techniques that could help gauge the level of

coronavirus

infection in a certain community - without the need for testing.

Identifying the virus in used water could provide an accurate picture of how the virus has spread, according to the researchers.

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The international group was assembled by the Water Research Foundation and includes engineers from the University of Sheffield.

The team is developing a range of ways to look at sewage, including the collection and storage of waste water samples and the use of molecular genetic tools to discover levels of the virus in them.

Professor Vanessa Speight, from the University of Sheffield's department of civil and structural engineering, is looking at techniques to reliably interpret the data collected from samples.

She said: "There is great potential for waste water to provide valuable information about the occurrence of COVID-19 across communities."

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There is no current evidence that the virus spreads through sewage systems, but a study in the Netherlands discovered viral genetic material in waste samples weeks before the first coronavirus case was detected.

A spokesman from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said: "We are actively engaging with the research community and government scientific advisers to investigate whether monitoring waste water could be used as a way of tracking the prevalence of the virus."