It was a great pleasure to host the 6th of our monthly webinars titled “The Long Winter: Where are we now on sewage-based detection of CV-19”. Court Assistant David Lloyd Owen gave us a fascinating presentation on how Water Based Epidemiology (WBE) has emerged as a powerful tool for the early detection of Covid-19 in communities.
David also gave us an interesting insight on the history of Water Based Epidemiology, how it was developed to detect polio in the 1930s and in 1961 was used to target the deployment of polio vaccinations. The use of WBE during the current pandemic has shown that Covid-19 can be detected in wastewater at low levels up to 2 months before first symptoms were noted in a community. With daily WBE testing, a lead of up to 12 days can be obtained before symptoms re-emerge as seen in Paris this July. Monitoring is possible at a sewage treatment works or upstream in the sewer network to target localised outbreaks.
The presentation was followed by numerous questions that made for a lively thought-provoking question and answer session. David certainly showcased why WBE is so important not just now but for future pandemics and disease control around the world. He made a strong case for politicians and health officials to make the development of WBE an urgent priority.
My thanks go to David for an excellent presentation and to Past Master Simon Catford for admirably managing the zoom technology once again.
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