The Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) recently teamed up with the University of Kansas School of Engineering (KU) to determine if genetic remnants of COVID-19 can be detected in wastewater. The concept originally tested in Massachusetts and the Netherlands, and now throughout the United States, is that people infected with the virus shed it through their urine and feces. The genetic material can be extracted from wastewater and matched against genetic markers keyed to COVID-19. The virus itself does not survive in wastewater, and therefore wastewater is not a significant means of disease transmission. Detecting the genetic material in wastewater is indicative of COVID-19 being present and may give local health officials knowledge of how widespread it is in their community, allowing them to take proactive measures to mitigate its spread. While drinking water is not part of this ongoing study, they said it’s important to note disinfection by all Kansas public water suppliers inactivates the virus and drinking water remains safe for consumption.
(Read more: KSN-TV)
