UK to monitor sewage for COVID-19 outbreaks

The UK is to begin monitoring sewage as part of a new COVID-19 advanced warning system, which it hopes will help prevent future outbreaks.

Research has found that fragments of genetic material (RNA) from the virus can be found in wastewater, which could provide an early indication that the disease is prevalent in an area.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has stated there is no evidence that COVID-19 can be transferred via sewage systems, meaning samples can be gathered without the risk of people catching the virus and triggering an outbreak.

According to the UK government's official website, sampling is set to begin soon, with data to be fed into the COVID-19 alert system created by the new Joint Bio-Security Centre.

The UK is to begin testing sewage for COVID-19 as part of a new advanced warning system it hopes will help to prevent future outbreaks. /Reuters

The Joint Bio-Security Centre has been created by the UK to bring together expertise and analysis to inform decisions on tackling the virus.

Techniques to gather and monitor sewage remain at an early stage, so the government and local councils are working closely with academics, UK Research and Innovation and the Natural Environment Research Council to hone their sampling process.

Four universities – Bath, Bangor, Edinburgh and Newcastle – and several leading water companies are also heavily involved with the development work.

In Scotland, the the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has started work on analyzing its first samples of wastewater provided by water company Scottish Water. Wales is currently assessing several wastewater projects to support the overall UK effort.