Tracking Covid through your poop

Samples taken from wastewater plants can identify hotspots.

SA now does not have to send samples to other countries to test for virus.

Agroup of South African scientists working from a KwaZulu-Natal lab is using faecal matter to detect and track Covid-19 hotspots. GreenHill Laboratories in Hilton, where SA’s first positive Covid-19 South African was disclosed, detected Sars-CoV-2 ribonucleic acid (RNA) in sewage early in June as part of a full-service virus risk forensic programme.

The lab says the development means South Africa has the capability for this kind of testing and samples do not have to be sent to other countries for testing.

It also means that statistically relevant sampling and timeous delivery to the laboratory are possible and that there is no need to develop specific kits.

The pilot entailed taking sewage samples from five wastewater treatment works in Gauteng and transporting them to the laboraty in KwaZulu-Natal.

Scientist Dr Shaun Groenink said on Friday that the undertaking came to fruition after the labs were approached by Professor Anthony Turton from the University of the Free State and Amanzi4-All.

“They approached us [when] they were in discussion with the Dutch Water Research Institute about using an approach they had developed over there and implementing it in South Africa,” Groenink said.

“As part of the protocol, they needed a lab to do the actual testing of the RNA. They approached us and then we said let’s try it and, presto, here we are.”

Groenink said the process involved samples taken from the inlet of waste treatment works over a 24-hour period.

“This is done so you get a full representative and statistically relevant sample from that community that is being served by that treatment works.

“If you just take a grab sample, it depends on the time of day and how often people are using ablutions. So, you need to take a sample over 24 hours to get a proper representative sample.

“That sample is then transported to us. When we receive it, we concentrate the viral particles, if there are any, and then we extract the viral RNA.”

He said the technique or method from their Dutch counterparts “was just a qualitative essay, so it will tell you if it is [the virus] there or not”.

– News24 Wire

Picture: AFP FAECAL MATTER. Technicians from Israeli firm Kando extract sewage samples from a manhole in the city of Ashkelon. Kando is using technlogoy to track Covid-19 in a similar way to the research being done in SA.