A German research team has presented a new method for detecting corona genetic material in wastewater.
For the first time in Germany it has been shown that genetic material from Sars-CoV-2 can be detected in sewage treatment plants using modern molecular methods, the scientists said. In a region with many corona cases, the researchers from Goethe University Frankfurt and RWTH Aachen found many virus fragments in the wastewater, in a region with fewer cases, correspondingly less genetic material. In each of the nine samples taken in April, three to 20 gene copies were found per milliliter of water. Studies in the Netherlands and the USA had previously measured similarly high concentration values.
In the future, the procedure could serve as an early warning system in order to identify locally increasing case numbers in the catchment area of a sewage treatment plant at an early stage. The genetic material detected in German wastewater was classified as non-infectious, according to the study. Harald Horn, Professor of Water Chemistry at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, said im Deutschlandfunk (Audiolink), it is still worrying that traces of the virus have been found in the wastewater. While in Germany the wastewater is treated chemically, in other countries like Israel it is often used directly for irrigation in agriculture. There is therefore a risk that people and food come into contact with the virus via the sewage and the risk of infection is increased.
Further articles on the coronavirus
We have a News blog created. In view of the large amount of information, this provides an overview of the most important current developments.
Numbers and dates
+ Current developments: Figures on the coronavirus in Germany (Stand: 26.08.)
+ Classification: What numbers do we give about the corona virus and why (Stand: 22.08.)
Test and protection
+ Treatment: That is how far vaccine research against the coronavirus is (Stand: 19.08.)
+ Infection: What we know so far about reinfections and immunity to the coronavirus (Stand: 25.08.)
+ Face masks: What you should know about protective masks (Stand: 12.08.)
+ Tests: Where to get testedn (Stand: 26.08.)
Vacation and free time
+ Returners and party goers: Who is currently driving the German infection numbers up (Stand: 20.8.)
+ Travel: The current regulations in Germanyd (Stand: 16.08.)
+ Infection numbers and entry: What is the situation like in the European holiday countries (Stand: 26.08.)
+ Travel expenses: Full refund even without a travel warning (Stand: 16.08.)
+ Party and celebrations: What about discos and clubs in the corona crisis (Stand: 19.8.)
Contagion and Transmission
+ Children and the coronavirus: What about the risk of infection and spread (Stand: 22.08.)
+ Transmission: What role do aerosol particles play in transmission? (Stand: 12.08.)
+ Prevention: How it is currently about a second wave of the coronavirus (Stand: 20.08.)
+ Herbst: What to do when the corona and the flu wave collide (Stand: 16.08.)
+ Superspreader-Events”: When can demonstrations, celebrations and events become a problem? (Stand 07.08.)
+ Excess mortality: How deadly is the coronavirus? (Stand: 16.08)
+ Long-term consequences: What are the long-term consequences of a corona infection? (Stand: 08.08.)
+ Shopping cart and co: How long the coronavirus lasts on surfaces (Stand: 08.08.)
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