Scientists using raw sewage as a tool to help determine how COVID infections are trending find some decrease

When will this COVID surge end? Scientists search your sewage for clues As COVID-19 and the omicron variant spread across the country, scientists are increasingly testing raw sewage to track trends. YahooNews

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Scientists are increasingly using raw sewage as a tool to help determine how infections are trending in hundreds of communities across the country. By taking regular samples from wastewater treatment plants and scanning feces for the virus, they’re able to tell where infections are trending upward or downward, and in many cases, how the amount compares to prior waves of the virus.

The use of the technology made waves this week, when researchers used it to note that it appears the latest COVID-19 surge, fueled by the omicron variant, may be on the decline in Boston. Experts told USA TODAY that while the data isn’t a certainty, it very well could be one of the first indicators the nation may have hit the omicron high-water mark.

“Data has shown a pretty steep decrease, which is extremely encouraging,” said Newsha Ghaeli, president of BioBot Analytics, a private analytics company performing the testing in Boston. “And which might suggest we are actually past omicron’s peak.”

Experts say early detection of trends is one of the key benefits that wastewater testing can provide.

Marlene Wolfe, an assistant professor of environmental health at Emory University in Atlanta, is part of a team of scientists evaluating sewage treatment plants in California communities. They can collect, analyze, and publish data in about 24 hours, delivering nearly real-time information on how COVID-19 is trending. That’s significantly faster than analyzing positive tests from swabs, which can take a week or more in some areas. ...