Wastewater from Valentinois and Annoneans combed through to detect Covid. The Valence and Annonay wastewater treatment plants joined the Obépine network at the start of the year. A network of researchers who, by analyzing the water leaving our toilets, is able to measure the circulation of Covid in the population.
The researchers noticed that the Covid attacked our airways but also in some cases our intestines. “There is an enteric attack. The virus attacks cells in the intestine and is found in part in the stools of patients “, summarizes Yvon Maday, professor of applied mathematics at Sorbonne University and co-founder of the Obépine network.
Follow the epidemic more closely
As everyone goes to the toilet, the virus present in the stool comes at once symptomatic patients and those without symptoms. An element which therefore makes it possible to see more precisely the evolution of the epidemic. Thanks to the analyzes, the Obépine network was able to anticipate the second wave of Covid in the summer of 2020. “Everyone goes to the toilet, especially young people, who have been able to catch the Covid by taking advantage of the summer and the deconfinement. The virus was able to circulate in this population without there being many symptoms”, explains Yvon Maday.
In the stations monitored at the time in eastern France and in the Paris region, researchers see the concentration of viruses increase in wastewater. “We have shown that there is an advance, quite simply because we have detected patients who could not be detected otherwise” says Yvon Maday.
The situation in Valence and Annonay
The Mauboule wastewater treatment plants in Valence and Acantia in Annonay joined the Obépine network at the end of 2020. They provided the first samples at the start of 2021. Since then, the presence of Covid in wastewater has declined in Valence. The indicator went from 100 to 80, that is to say an average level of circulation of the virus. In Annonay, the indicator rose from 120 to 70 before rising sharply to 95 in mid-May. “Was there a relaxation at the end of confinement on May 19? It is a phenomenon that must be analyzed a posteriori with the community” says Yvon Maday.
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