With wastewater analyzes, scientists can identify the course of the corona pandemic and the spread of new virus variants at an early stage.
A one-year study in Munich showed that the spread of Sars-CoV-2 detected in wastewater agrees well with the official data on the seven-day incidence in the respective urban areas, reports a research team from the LMU Clinic in Munich.
With the advantage that the developments were already visible three weeks before the reporting figures from the authorities, which are based on the analysis of airway swabs.
"In addition, we were able to detect the increasing spread of virus variant B.1.1.7 (alpha) in the Munich population at the beginning of January 2021, weeks before it could be determined in relevant numbers by sequencing swab samples from patients in Munich," explained Head of studies Andreas Wieser from the Tropical Institute of the LMU Klinikum. Wastewater monitoring can therefore actually serve as an early warning system. It is now recommended by the European Commission, especially for large areas.
The Munich study, which was published in the journal "Science of The Total Environment", is said to be one of the first and longest investigations to track the Sars-CoV-2 viral load in wastewater worldwide. Since April 2020, the scientists have been collecting wastewater samples every week at six locations in the Munich city area. In the laboratory, among other things, the genetic material was then sequenced in order to discover worrisome variants.