Journal article
Epidemiological evaluation of sewage surveillance as a tool to detect the presence of COVID-19 cases in a low case load setting
Jim Black, Phyo Aung, Monica Nolan, Emma Roney, Rachael Poon, Daneeta Hennessy, Nicholas D Crosbie, Dan Deere, Aaron R Jex, Nijoy John, Louise Baker, Peter J Scales, Shane P Usher, David T McCarthy, Christelle Schang, Jonathan Schmidt, Steven Myers, Natacha Begue, Christine Kaucner, Bruce Thorley Show all
SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT | ELSEVIER | Published : 2021
Abstract
In low prevalence settings the development of sensitive and specific quantitative Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction (qRT-PCR) tests to detect SARS-CoV-2 (the virus causing COVID-19) in sewage presents the possibility of using sewage sampling as a diagnostic test for the presence of infected people in the catchment of the sampled sewer. However, the usefulness of such surveillance has not been quantified. In this study in the Australian state of Victoria between August and October 2020 the location of each known SARS-CoV-2-infected person was determined on each day from two days before onset to 55 days after, in 46 metropolitan and rural sewer catchments sampled weekly – a total..
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Awarded by Water Research Australia
Awarded by NHMRC Career Development Fellowship
Funding Acknowledgements
Louise Baker was supported by a Melbourne Water Centenary Fellowship, and Aaron Jex by Water Research Australia Project 2064, NHMRC Career Development Fellowship APP1164534, and The Victorian State Government Operational Infrastructure Support and Australian Government National Health and Medical Research Council Independent Research Institute Infrastructure Support Scheme.