Since March 2022, researchers in the province have been testing wastewater from municipalities in Ontario to measure the prevalence of COVID-19 in seven regions.
Gustavo Ybazeta, a researcher at the Health Sciences North Research Institute in Sudbury, says the program provides valuable data to health departments and municipalities so they can respond to the spread of the virus.
We help guide interventions that will prevent the spread of epidemics or an increase in the number of infected people
he says.
Mr. Ybazeta says that with the decline in the number of PCR tests performed today, sewage test results and the number of hospitalizations due to COVID-19 are the two most important pieces of information. important for understanding the prevalence of the virus in the community.
Now that a research network is in place at 13 universities and several research institutes, Ybazeta says his colleagues can also analyze wastewater for other pathogens, such as the flu virus.
We have a unique opportunity to exercise surveillance in order to avoid another large outbreak
he says.
In Sudbury, Ybazeta says eight researchers are involved in wastewater monitoring.
He believes that if the province had not continued to fund the program, it would have been difficult to continue its activities.
As of March 25, Public Health Sudbury & Districts has advised that the risk of contracting COVID-19 in the region is moderate
depending on sewage test results and other factors, including hospitalizations and outbreaks in long-term care homes.
With information from Jonathan Migneault, of CBC
