Wastewater testing at residences on Stellenbosch University (SU) Tygerberg campus allowed researchers to monitor Covid-19 levels among residents.
This is according to Dr Edward Archer, a postdoctoral research fellow at SU. The project, which began in November 2020, is run by the South African Medical Research Council (SAMRC) and PhD candidates from SU. Monitoring wastewater could act as an early warning system for Covid-19 outbreaks in SU residences, said Archer.
The process of collecting and testing wastewater samples from SU’s Tygerberg campus, as explained by Dr. Rabia Johnson and Dr. Edward Archer. INFOGRAPHIC: Inge du Plessis
“We can detect the presence and absence of the virus within the wastewater of both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients. This can be used to identify hotspots,” said Dr Rabia Johnson, SAMRC deputy director at the Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform.
Samples were collected on a weekly basis from manholes around SU’s Tygerberg campus. The Ribonucleic Acid (RNA) was extracted from the wastewater samples and used to determine the viral load in the wastewater, according to Johnson.
Researchers are collecting samples from manholes at Stellenbosch University’s Tygerberg campus to detect and monitor Covid-19 levels in residences. PHOTO: Inge du Plessis
“The idea is to use wastewater as an early warning system for the occurrence of Covid-19, as the RNA spikes in the wastewater about a week before infections do,” explained Ludwig Bröcker, an environmental microbiology PhD candidate at SU, via email correspondence.
The aim of the research is to provide communities with an opportunity to prepare for a wave of infections and possibly start isolating before spreading the virus, according to Bröcker.
“People that do not get tested will still do viral shedding, so the RNA signal of SARS-CoV-2 will still be prevalent in the wastewater coming from those individuals,” said Archer.
Conducting wastewater testing and research over a period of time gave researchers insight into trends happening in specific areas, according to both Archer and Johnson.
AUDIO: Voice of Dr. Rabia Johnson, SAMRC deputy director at the Biomedical Research and Innovation Platform.