Universiti Sains Malaysia’s (USM) Kumitaa Theva Das said this was because wastewater can give advance notice of an impending outbreak of Covid-19 infections in an area.
This, she said, was because viruses are expelled through hand washing, sputum, showers, and excrement, which all end up in the sewers. Other bacteria and pathogens can also be detected this way.
According to Kumitaa, studies have shown that the amount of Covid-19 causing virus found in wastewater correlates with the number of infections in the local population, even if it was one infection per 10,000 people.
“Based on published research, SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, has been found in wastewater before it spreads in the population,” she said.
She added that several European countries have carried out such sampling, giving a prediction of an impending outbreak as early as two months ahead.
Kumitaa cited research carried out in Amsterdam, where the Covid-19 virus was found in wastewater in an area three weeks before the first case was reported.
Similarly, in Barcelona, authorities found the virus in their sewers 41 days before their first case was reported, while in Milan, it was found 64 days before the first case was reported.
Kumitaa said tests on wastewater helped bring undetected cases to the fore, with the wastewater showing high levels of the Covid-19 virus in areas with low numbers of reported infections and asymptomatic cases.
She added that wastewater testing can become useful in areas where in-person testing was difficult.
“For a start, the authorities could sample wastewater from hotspots and high-density locations, such as apartments and flats.
“The virus could be detected within hours of excretion,” she said, adding that the tracking of viruses in wastewater has long been established and has been previously used to detect other viruses and bacteria.
“Regular monitoring through wastewater could therefore be useful in anticipating a spike in infections. This becomes especially crucial as we head towards the virus being an endemic – and to prevent another pandemic.”
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