Date Published: 20/07/2020
ARCHIVED - Alhama de Murcia using sewage analysis as early Covid detection method
ARCHIVED ARTICLE Sampling will be undertaken via the municipal waste treatment plants
Alhama town council has joined a scheme to test for the Covid-19 virus in waste water generated through the sewage network.
Water is to be analysed using a PCR test (Polymerase Chain Reaction) from water samples taken at the entry points to each of the waste treatment plants in the municipality.
The sampling will be weekly to begin with, and once the process gets underway can be increased as required depending on the results obtained and information about the evolution of the virus obtained from the Ministry of Health.
Covid was first detected in waste water samples a couple of months ago and a programme of water testing is now being rolled out nationwide as part of efforts to focus resources into the early detection of the virus so that lockdowns can be highly localised based on the actual presence of a focal point of contagion rather than locking down whole areas.
Researchers in other areas of Spain have discovered that the presence of Covid-19 in faecal waste can be used as a tool to help track down outbreaks of Covid which may not have been previously detected, and can act as an early warning system, helping to prevent new outbreaks.By focusing in on a possible contagion, early testing and selective isolation techniques can be used to try and stop the virus spreading.
Last week the health regions of Spain all agreed to work closer together to try and prepare for a possible second wave of contagions, co-ordinating their efforts and sharing information to help contain outbreaks when they appear.
Early detection of cases is viewed as being one of the key strategies this autumn
The treatment plants involved in this exercise are the following:
EDAR (waste treatment plant) Alhama.
EDAR El Berro.
EDAR El Cañarico.
EDAR Gebas.
EDAR Condado de Alhama.
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