Reading the headlines today, you are seeing more and more municipalities testing their wastewater for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Viruses and bacteria excreted in urine and stool collect in public sewers. The use of sewage pathogen monitoring in wastewater treatment facilities as a public health surveillance tool is now a reality. Environmental microbiologists have studied pathogens in sewage for decades, but now because of COVID-19, public health surveillance efforts focussing on tracking virus levels is at an all time high. It is critical that expanded testing and monitoring continue, as this will certainly help in understanding how the SARS-CoV-2 virus spreads and potentially affects community populations.
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| Teledyne ISCO Samplers |
Teledyne ISCO, the leader manufacturer of instruments for water / wastewater sampling and monitoring, is helping in this effort. Teledyne ISCO manufactures a full line of rugged and reliable portable and refrigerated samplers. Using this equipment as part of their overall Coronavirus strategy, municipalities have at their disposal portable and refrigerated samplers ready for widespread collection and testing. These samplers can be used in any type of environment or testing situation. They are easy to use and program, and have many configuration options.
With so little known about the spread SARS-CoV-2, this approach may be highly important. The data accumulated from an implementation of wide-scale sewerage sampling and testing for Coronavirus can provide the information needed to build dynamic maps of the virus spread, and ultimately, the ability to foresee and prevent flare-ups.
