Researchers are looking at wastewater to measure how prevalent SARS-CoV-2 is in a given community, according to an article on the STAT website.
Researchers collected samples in late March from a wastewater treatment plant serving a large metropolitan area in Massachusetts and found that the amount of SARS-CoV-2 particles in the sewage samples indicated a far higher number of people likely infected with Covid-19 than the reported cases in that area.
The study estimated that there were at least 2,300 people infected with Covid-19 in the area around the treatment facility. But at the time of analysis, which has not yet been peer-reviewed, there were 446 cases officially reported in that area.
Researchers in the Netherlands similarly described detecting the novel coronavirus in sewage samples — sometimes even before public health officials reported the first diagnosed case of Covid-19 in a given community.
Cyberattack Results in Patient Reroutes at Anne Arundel Medical Center
Tangram Furnishes Be Well OC Irvine Behavioral Health Campus
Suntree Internal Medicine Reports Data Breach
Why Healthcare Facilities Management Is Critical to Patient Safety
Sanford Health and North Memorial Health Finalize Partnership