Analyzing sewage from a wastewater treatment system for evidence of VODI-19 in the population is an interesting idea that’s getting lots of attention – such as the Massachusetts firm Biobot, which is running pilot projects around the country.
Keene State College is looking into doing the same thing so that it can be alerted if there’s a COVID-19 surge after students return to campus, reports the Keene Sentinel:
The current research indicates wastewater-based epidemiology, the technique’s scientific name, can alert communities to COVID-19’s presence up to two weeks before infected people would begin presenting symptoms
… The college is looking at taking samples from two points on the city’s sewer line, one which would give a sample of the community overall, and another that would focus on Keene State’s campus and the surrounding neighborhood, where many students live.
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