Fulton Schools Professor Rolf Halden has been among the first researchers to promote testing of wastewater for the abundance of information it can provide about human health. He has gotten good results using wastewater monitoring techniques to test for levels of opioid use in local communities and to track the spread of seasonal flu outbreaks. Now his lab team’s attention has been turned to assessing the levels of outbreaks of COVID-19 infection in urban areas. That testing offers a much more accurate picture of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic than results of testing individuals for the infection, Halden says. He is hoping his team’s success will motivate more wastewater-based testing throughout the U.S.

See Also: As Indiana Reopens, One City Scans Sewage for Guidance, MedPageToday, May 7

How far has the coronavirus spread? The answer may be in the sewers, MSN.com, May 5

Rhinelander Spread Tons Of Sludge Near Site Of Contaminated Wells, WPRX Public Radio (Wisconsin), May 5