Sampling wastewater to predict outbreaks in COVID-19 is being done all over the U.S.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings, along with health officials, addressed the public on Monday regarding COVID-19 and the detection of the virus in wastewater.
Demings and other health leaders discussed the process by which they collect and test the wastewater, and said that levels of the concentration of the virus detected in the wastewater are “very high” and “very concerning.”
Officials said there has been more than a 600% increase in levels of the concentration of the virus detected in the Orlando local community’s wastewater system.
Sampling began back in mid-May, according to Ed Torres, utility director.
“The results of the virus RNA that we measure in the wastewater, indicate that we will see continued clinical cases and hospitalizations this week,” Torres said.
“You will see the virus in the wastewater seven to 10 days before people develop symptoms, so it’s a leading indicator, which can be very useful in alerting county health departments that an outbreak is on the way,” said Dr. Ian Pepper is an environmental science professor at the University of Arizona.
Experts say that testing bathroom wastewater for COVID-19 can predict where outbreaks of the virus will occur, reports said.
Based on levels of COVID-19 found in a Central Florida wastewater system, the virus surge in the state is far from over.
“The results of the virus RNA that we measure in the wastewater indicate that we will see continued clinical cases and hospitalizations this week,” Ed Torres, the county’s utility director, said, according to the news outlet.
(Lehigh Acres) As far as COVID19 nothing special or different has been required for drinking water or wastewater and we are not required to perform any testing for this virus, According to Donna Lizotte Community Service Representative on behalf of The Florida Governmental Utility Authority.
Experts say that sampling bathroom wastewater can predict where coronavirus outbreaks will occur.
Across the country, health officials and researchers have been analyzing sewage as a tool for tracking pandemic hotspots.
In Davis, California, after an increase in viral load was detected in wastewater in July, local officials sent out text message alerts encouraging residents get tested, CNN reported.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been awarding grants to community wastewater treatment plants to participate in its COVID-19 detection program since last fall, reports said.