In the opposition, there is growing annoyance that the sewage analysis for coronaviruses in Germany is making slow progress despite an urgent recommendation from the EU Commission.

The FDP and the Greens want to use this method as an additional tool in the fight against the pandemic.

Wastewater analyzes with the PCR technique can show a trend in the infection process a few days earlier than human tests.

Stefan Tomik

Editor in politics.

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    The results are independent of how many people are tested and also allow earlier conclusions to be drawn about the spread of virus mutants such as the Indian variant. Much research has already been carried out on wastewater analysis in Germany, but so far only a few municipalities have made the leap into practice. In mid-March, the EU Commission issued an “urgent recommendation” that all member states should test wastewater as extensively as possible by October, at least in cities with more than 150,000 inhabitants.

    The FDP member of the Bundestag Wieland Schinnenburg told the FAZ that the corona pandemic must be fought “with all available technical means”.

    The federal government should coordinate and finance the measurements in the municipalities.

    "Unfortunately, the federal government delayed this important project for a long time," said Schinnenburg.

    "I don't have the impression that the government is seriously considering this technical option." The doctor and health politician Janosch Dahmen (Greens) is also advocating rapid application. 

    Not a priority from the point of view of CDU health politicians

    “Every additional, reliable key figure improves a targeted approach in the fight against the pandemic. But the federal government is not pursuing a systematic, data-based approach. ”In a closed session, she“ put aside ”all suggestions from the opposition to wastewater analysis, said Dahmen. That reminds him of the procedure for sequencing the virus, which was only used late in Germany. "Here, too, demands and advice from science were ignored for a long time," says Dahmen.

    In the Union, however, the matter is not seen as urgent. Erwin Rüddel (CDU), chairman of the health committee in the Bundestag, tells the FAZ: “Basically, I think that all opportunities to fight the pandemic should be used. In my opinion, the wastewater analysis for corona viruses is not a priority. ”The method is“ still subject to a certain inaccuracy ”. The time advantage compared to human tests also shrinks, “the better the health authorities are digitized. In my opinion, this is the much more important task: that every single health department is not only connected to Sormas, but also uses it, as well as other digital solutions such as the Luca app. ”For the SPD, environmental politician Michael Thews says that experts have him insured,that wastewater analyzes are already possible. "The question arises: If that works, why don't we just do it?"

    Researchers want a clear signal from the federal government

    Scientists hope that the federal government will soon give the go-ahead to set up a measuring network that is as close as possible.

    The responsibilities lie mainly at the municipal and state level;

    nevertheless, one hopes for a tailwind from Berlin.

    Friedrich Hetzel from the German Association for Water Management, Sewage and Waste (DWA) says: "A clear message must now come from the health authorities: We think it makes sense, please do it, we also support you financially."

    The German government sponsored the research, but was reportedly surprised by the urgency of the EU recommendation. A national contact person was appointed to the Commission too late, and a progress report was submitted late. The government recently launched another pilot project to further investigate wastewater testing in model areas. The aim is "a possible further establishment of wastewater monitoring in Germany from 2022". On request, the Federal Ministry of Health points out "that the investigations and research in this area have not yet been completed". For example, “no absolute key figures” could yet be derived from the data. DWA expert Hetzel does not see remaining research gaps as an obstacle: "The biggest hurdle in Germany is the impressionwe are still in the middle of research. We haven't been for a long time. "

    "Corona will be with us all our lives"

    The EU Commission has only made one recommendation, but it is extremely clear, says Hetzel.

    "Corona will be with us all our lives, new mutants will keep appearing.

    We could identify them early in the wastewater. "Frank Weber from the Research Institute for Water and Waste Management at RWTH Aachen University says:" We urgently need to get out of the research area and into practice.

    But in politics, the handbrake was included from the start. "

    Meanwhile, other cities are moving forward. In Wiesbaden, too, there has been a search for corona viruses in wastewater since the beginning of May. The red-green governed Hamburg is preparing a sample to be taken in the Köhlbrandhöft sewage treatment plant, also as "preparation for future pandemics", as it is called in a resolution by the citizens. The red-black state government of Lower Saxony, on the other hand, rejected an application from the Greens parliamentary group at the end of April. She sees “currently no additional infectious benefit”, refers to “uncertainties in the informative value” of the figures and “unclear cost-benefit ratios”. The state capital Hanover has nevertheless started to measure at various points in the sewer network. Wastewater has been analyzed for a long time, for example in Augsburg, Karlsruhe or in the Berchtesgaden district.