Bucks sewage helping track coronavirus cases
Aylesbury and Little Marlow sewage sites are being tested as part of a government led programme.
Buckinghamshire sewage is being tested for traces of coronavirus.
Two Thames Water sites, Aylesbury and Little Marlow, are involved in testing for coronavirus.
The government-led project is successfully detecting traces of coronavirus in sewage, providing early warning for local outbreaks across the country, and sharing data with NHS Test and Trace.
Since being announced in June, the programme has proven that fragments of genetic material from COVID-19 can be found in wastewater.
This can then indicate a spike in cases in a local community or institution.
Results can provide local health professionals with a clearer picture of infection rates by identifying where there are high numbers, particularly for asymptomatic carriers and before people show symptoms. Local authorities to take early action to slow the spread of the virus.
Elsewhere this programme has shown a rise in cases, despite positive test results staying relatively low.
Environment secretary George Eustice said:
“This is a significant step forward in giving us a clearer idea of infection rates both nationally and locally, particularly in areas where there may be large numbers of people who aren’t showing any symptoms and therefore aren’t seeking tests.
“NHS Test and Trace is able to use the science to ensure local health leads are alerted and can take action.”
“We are continuing to look at how this programme can be refined as one of the many measures we’re using to slow the spread of the virus and protect local communities.”
Dr Davey Jones, professor of soil and environmental science at Bangor University, said:
“We have been monitoring viruses like norovirus and hepatitis in human sewage for the last decade, as part of a programme to evaluate levels of these viruses in the community. We added coronavirus to the surveillance list in March this year.
“We showed that viral levels in wastewater mapped really well onto the success of lockdown measures in the first wave and to the emergence of the second wave. We are now using it to track the emergence and control of cases and working on new pilots to map the virus at both the local and the regional scale.”