Tuesday 31 March 2020

Paper-based device to detect Covid-19 in wastewater of communities: Study

The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, noted that rapid testing kits using paper-based devices could be used on-site at wastewater treatment plants.
coronavirus, test
Researchers are working on a test to detect the novel coronavirus in the wastewater of communities infected with the virus, a development that can help curtail COVID-19 spread via contaminated water sources.According to the scientists, including those from the Cranfield Water Science Institute in the UK, this approach may provide an effective way to predict the potential spread of the virus by picking up signatures of it in faeces and urine from disease carriers that enter water systems.The study, published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology, noted that rapid testing kits using paper-based devices could be used on-site at wastewater treatment plants.It said such kits can be applied to trace sources and determine whether there are potential Covid-19 carriers in local areas.


In the case of asymptomatic infections in the community or when people are not sure whether they are infected or not, real-time community sewage detection through paper analytical devices could determine whether there are COVID-19 carriers in an area to enable rapid screening, quarantine, and prevention,” said Zhugen Yang, study co-author from the Cranfield Water Science Institute.According to the scientists, the wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) approach can help monitor COVID-19 at an early stage in communities, enabling public health authorities to take effective intervention as early as possible to restrict the movements of that local population..Read More

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