Wastewater tests could monitor 2 billion people for the coronavirus

A new approach to monitoring the novel coronavirus (as well as other dangerous pathogens and chemical agents) is being developed and refined. Known as wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), the method mines sewage samples for vital clues about human health. It can potentially identify levels of coronavirus infection at both a local and global scale. In a new study, ASU researchers Rolf Halden and Olga Hart analyze what can and cannot be measured when tracking SARS-CoV-2 (the virus strain that causes COVID-19) in wastewater, and they highlight the economic advantages of the new approach over conventional disease testing and epidemiological surveillance. Read More