The more contagious variant of the virus is spreading. That shows the investigation of the wastewater. The health department and researchers at TU Darmstadt have located outbreaks in two parts of the city.
In Wiesbaden, the first results of the wastewater tests for corona viruses are available. According to the health department, they show that infections with the Delta variant have increased significantly from around mid-May.
The investigation was coordinated by the TU Darmstadt. There, processes are being developed in the wastewater management department to identify mutants of the coronavirus with the help of genome analysis and to track their pathways. The system had already been tested in Frankfurt.
early warning system
At the TU Darmstadt In a project, researchers are tracking the traces of corona mutants in wastewater.
Im Labor the samples are prepared and analyzed with PCR for the virus concentration and genome sequencing for the variants.
In the sewage from the sewage treatment plants the development is visible earlier than in the medical field.
The lead is between four and ten days, depending on the technology. diu
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Since the end of April, samples have been taken and analyzed once a week at the two Wiesbaden sewage treatment plants, the main sewage treatment plant in Wiesbaden and the sewage treatment plant in the Biebrich district. The wastewater monitoring provides additional information on the health department’s reporting system. The wastewater samples could help to classify the infection process, because they would not be influenced by test capacities, test strategies or asymptomatic courses, according to the health department. The results of the PCR tests essentially corresponded to those of the wastewater analysis. Thereafter, the alpha variant, previously known as the British variant, was predominant in the seven-week study period. The delta variant, which is considered to be more contagious, increased.
With the help of the wastewater it is not possible to determine how many people are sick, but a trend is discernible. If the virus load increases, it could be an indication of an outbreak. As in Wiesbaden, where the health department – initially independent of wastewater monitoring – found that corona infections increased in the two districts of Kastel and Kostheim in May and June. The sequencing showed that the infections were due to the delta variant.
In order to localize the outbreak and to be able to obtain a more differentiated statement about the occurrence and distribution of the Delta variant, additional samples were taken at the Kastel pumping station and in channels in Kostheim and Kastel. With samples straight from sewers, the results could be broken down into parts of the city or even blocks, explained Susanne Lackner, professor of wastewater management at TU Darmstadt and head of the project recently in a conversation with the German press agency. Research has shown that it is possible to use sewage treatment plants as an early warning system.
It is not yet clear whether the monitoring will continue in Wiesbaden. Talks would be held on this, it said.
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