With the country facing a shortage of Covid-19 tests kits, a scientist from the University of the Free State believes that the answer to bolster testing lies in sewage surveillance.
Dr Anthony Turton from the Centre for Environmental Management at the institution said there were 824 wastewater treatment works in the country and each one served a population of “known size”.
“This data can be compared weekly, and from this we can determine if the total viral load is increasing or decreasing,” Turton said. “What is known to scientists, but not yet apparent to the public is that the virus is shed in human waste. This is known as viral shedding, and is now known to result in a traceable presence in both urine and faeces before a patient manifests with symptoms and after a patient has been treated.
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