Tests show ‘significant reduction’ of virus
Project helps to assemble ‘all the intelligence possible’ for pandemic fight
THE RESULTS of testing waste water in the Valencia region have shown a significant reduction in the presence of the SARS-CoV-2 virus during the confinement period.
Regional president Ximo Puig explained that a tool developed jointly by the water company Global Omnium and the Spanish national research council (CSIC) analysed samples from the sewers in Valencia city and six other municipalities in the three provinces.
He was visiting the laboratory of the company’s inspection unit, Gamaser, and said this offers the possibility to monitor the evolution of Covid-19 in sectors.
The objective is to generalise this project across the whole region so that the presence of the virus can be detected early.
The people behind the project explained that so far, an in less than a month, more than 950 samples have been taken using the GOAnalytics tool.
According to the company, it is able to detect genetic traces (RNA) of the virus in the faeces and urine of asymptomatic people, which enter the sewer system from the first day they are infected, ‘even though they do not know they are infected’.
This, combined with epidemiological monitoring data, will offer more information when it comes to making decisions to stop possible surges of the virus, said Sr Puig.
As a result, resources can be prioritised and mobilised more locally based on this data. Sr Puig commented that although the indicators are positive, including this study, the regional government will act with the utmost prudence when it comes to requesting the progression of the region to phase three of the exit plan, because safety is fundamental for the reactivation of the economy.
He also assured that the benefits of this innovative project for public health – which has been developed as part of a three year investigation between Global Omnium and the CSIC – ‘shows the importance of public-private collaboration’ to assemble ‘all the intelligence possible’ for the fight against the pandemic.
The system had already demonstrated that disinfection treatments were effective to eliminate the virus and has also been tried in six waste water treatment plants in Murcia region.