The waste water sample from the aircraft toilets was transferred from Brussels airport to the Rega Institute in Leuven for laboratory research. “The sample was indeed positive for the corona virus,” researcher Elke Wollants tells VRT NWS. “But it is very weakly concentrated, so it contains little virus. Further determination of the variants will be very difficult, but we will certainly try.”
It is uncertain whether the sample is representative of the passengers who were on the plane. “We actually expected a sample with more feces, but now we’ve received wastewater,” says Wollants. It is possible that the concentration of the virus is actually higher. The researchers hope they can get a better sample (with more bowel movements) next week.
In a few days, the first results of the determination of the variant (or of the attempt to do so) of today’s first sample should be known.
