Tests of wastewater from across Maine have shown a steady increase in COVID-19 cases in recent months, offering additional, localized insight into the spread of the coronavirus.
Some Maine colleges, meanwhile, have successfully used the stuff flushed down the toilet to detect and isolate cases before they lead to larger outbreaks. St. Josephs College, for instance, has found infected-but-asymptomatic individuals on campus after following the virus trail to specific buildings.
The wastewater has given us the tip off, said Oliver Griswold, a spokesman for the small, private college in Standish. In both of the two outbreaks weve had, we heard from the wastewater first.
Still, it would take more frequent and robust screening to turn the states massive network of toilets into an early warning system for infection spikes.
Individuals infected with the virus that causes COVID-19 shed fragments or genetic markers of the virus in waste. While research suggests the amount of active or live virus in feces is low, laboratories can detect and then amplify active or inactive markers as another way to detect trends before they begin showing up in the daily case counts.
This is allowing us to get a finger on the pulse of whats going on in the community, said Yolanda Brooks, an assistant professor of biology at St. Josephs College whose team has been testing samples from the Portland Water District, Yarmouth and the campus community.
The Portland Water District has been collecting weekly samples from its East End treatment plant in Portland and its Westbrook/Gorham facility for COVID-19 testing since July. Test results show levels of virus materials increasing starting in September and spiking in late-October. That correlates with surging case numbers within surrounding communities in recent weeks as Maine has seen the highest rates of infections and deaths since the pandemic arrived in Maine in March.
Traces of the virus in samples from the Westbrook/Gorham treatment plant, for instance, increased by a magnitude of 10 between Sept. 1 and Nov. 3. While Brooks said federal officials caution against estimating the number of infections in an area based on wastewater results, she noted that Westbrook/Gorham had just a handful of cases on Sept. 1 and roughly 50 as of last week.
It does confirm a correlation, said Brooks, who has a doctorate in microbiology and a background in studying fecal pollution.
Other towns in Maine, including Yarmouth and Augusta, also have contracted with St. Josephs College or a national lab to conduct testing.
St. Josephs internal testing program, meanwhile, illustrates the enormous potential for wastewater monitoring.
Because St. Josephs has its own wastewater treatment system serving a relatively small population, staff have been able to use the testing results to zero in on clusters of cases in individual buildings.
The process begins by collecting a series of samples from each of the three wastewater lift stations that serve different sections of campus. By analyzing those results, Brooks and her colleagues can see whether levels of the viruss genetic markers have changed since the previous tests and, in the event of an increase, order building-level testing in that zone.
The college can then test individuals residing or working in buildings that have elevated levels of the virus markers. The vast majority of the students infected with COVID-19, to date, were asymptomatic but potentially contagious, so wastewater testing enabled college health officials to find and isolate them, said Griswold, the colleges spokesman.
The early warning piece of it has given the whole campus a sense of we are going to know early what is going on campus, Griswold said. Whereas if you are just doing individual testing, you are going to know only when you have a problem, not before you have a problem.
St. Josephs College has had 15 confirmed cases during the past two weeks, prompting administrators to transition all students to remote learning and send them home early this week before the Thanksgiving break.
Three campuses of the University of Maine System Orono, Fort Kent and the University of Southern Maine also have been testing wastewater for COVID-19 since September. More recently, the UMaine lab where the test is done recently started analyzing wastewater from the town of Orono and is working with the University of New England in Biddeford on testing.
Both the UMaine and St. Josephs labs use a testing system developed by IDEXX Laboratories in Westbrook. The veterinary services company has also partnered with the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention to provide the equipment and materials used to conduct thousands of COVID-19 tests daily on nasal swabs collected from individuals.
Robert Wheeler, associate professor of microbiology who leads the testing effort from his Orono lab, said virus levels in wastewater have been rising since September but the increase has not been steady. Wheeler noted that the various campuses have had lower numbers of infections among students and staff than their surrounding communities.
The combination of sensitive testing technology and low virus prevalence rates allows them to detect slight changes.
If we dont have any known cases but we are seeing the virus in the wastewater, that is a disconnect and triggers a discussion about where to direct additional testing, Wheeler said.
Like Portland, UMaines testing is only done weekly, which limits the ability to quickly detect trends. Wheeler said his lab hopes to expand capacity this spring.
Ideally we would be testing all of these places every day, he said. The University of Maine doesnt quite have all of the resources to do that and the State of Maine hasnt provided those resources as of yet.
Scott Firmin, director of wastewater services at the Portland Water District, said it would be up to the member communities about whether to increase testing frequency. Tests cost $120 per weekly sample during the first, three-month period of the pilot project, but the district has since extended the agreement with St. Josephs College lab at $380 per sample.
With all of the focus on fragments of the virus in wastewater, Firmin stressed that drinking water is safe.
We use dual water treatments, ozone and ultraviolet light, that effectively inactivate viruses and kill pathogens, Firmin wrote in an email. COVID-19 is mainly thought to spread between people who are in close contact with one another, not through water, according to the CDC. The EPA states that the presence of the COVID-19 virus has not been detected in drinking-water supplies and based on current evidence the risk to water supplies is low.
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.
Previous
Next
Excerpt from:
Wastewater testing sheds light on COVID-19 trends - Portland Press Herald - Press Herald
- Cleveland to shed Indians name soon: report - Ballpark Digest - December 14th, 2020
- Study sheds light on how brain encodes time and place into memories - WION - December 14th, 2020
- Karl-Anthony Towns sheds tears as he plays in first game since losing mother to COVID-19 - FOX 9 - December 14th, 2020
- Washington State University research sheds light on indigenous turkey technology - Sports and Weather Right Now - December 14th, 2020
- South Korea's contact tracing sheds light on extensive efforts to slow spread of COVID-19 - ABC News - December 14th, 2020
- Research Sheds Light on Origins of Ancient Pterosaurs | | SBU News - Stony Brook News - December 14th, 2020
- GE shed giveaway sparks heavy interest | Pandemic 2020 - Rutland Herald - December 14th, 2020
- Nova Scotian researcher sheds light on Boston COVID-19 superspreader event - CBC.ca - December 14th, 2020
- Attention AEM Members: Manufacturing Outlook Webinar To Shed Light on Likely Economic Outcomes for 2021 - Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) - December 14th, 2020
- Red House BBQ opens drive-thru window at The Shed - Tehachapi News - December 14th, 2020
- A She Shed of One's Own - Jezebel - December 14th, 2020
- Consider Withdrawing Order On Metro Shed Land: Court To Maharashtra - NDTV - December 14th, 2020
- Sheds of Hope to help wildfire victims rebuild - KEZI TV - December 4th, 2020
- Knight Commission's proposed college football 'solution' sheds no light on why it would work - Sporting News - December 4th, 2020
- New study sheds light on why women tend to have greater animosity towards political opponents - PsyPost - December 4th, 2020
- Rhode Island sheds Seton Hall with late run - jacksonprogress-argus - December 4th, 2020
- Study sheds light on how early coronavirus started circulating in U.S. - SILive.com - December 4th, 2020
- Geologists to Shed Light on the Mantle with 3D Model - Eos - December 4th, 2020
- New Survey Sheds Light on Diversity and Inclusion in Travel Industry - TravelPulse - December 4th, 2020
- Hardik Pandya Sheds Light on Koffee with Karan Controversy, Says 'I Wasnt in Control of my Own Life' - Cricket Country News - December 4th, 2020
- FIA sheds light on how it's investigating Grosjean crash - F1i.com - December 4th, 2020
- 3D map of Milky Way sheds light on workings of galaxy - RTE.ie - December 4th, 2020
- World Disability Day: Rani Mukerji sheds light on the need to be an inclusive society - PINKVILLA - December 4th, 2020
- Scott Robertson sheds further light on 'likely' role with British and Irish Lions - RugbyPass - December 4th, 2020
- Colt McCoy's recent starts shed light on what Giants' game plan should be if he plays in Week 13 - Yahoo Sports - December 4th, 2020
- Leaked document from Hubei sheds light on China`s lies about the gravity of COVID-19 - WION - December 2nd, 2020
- Resignation from Provincetown Finance Committee sheds light on on-going tension on town board - Wicked Local - December 2nd, 2020
- 'Best new art book for autumn' sheds fascinating light on the Young Poland art movement - The First News - December 2nd, 2020
- Jakob Poeltls contract sheds light on what the Spurs may be doing - Pounding The Rock - December 2nd, 2020
- Global Sheds and Outdoor Storage Market on a Steady Growth Trail; FMI Provides Projections in Light of COVID-19 Pandemic in its New Revised Report -... - December 2nd, 2020
- Souvankham Thammavongsa's winning book sheds light into the immigrant experience - St. Paul Asian American Press - December 2nd, 2020
- Princess Dianas former butler sheds light on what he saw behind closed doors - The News International - December 2nd, 2020
- Survey sheds light on deer populations, issues along Greenway in Grand Forks and East Grand Forks - Grand Forks Herald - December 2nd, 2020
- Modern Shed added $129,000 tiny homes on wheels to product line - Business Insider - Business Insider - December 2nd, 2020
- Dinosaur-era bird with scythe-like beak sheds light on avian diversity - Reuters - December 2nd, 2020
- Really bad: Jrgen Klopp sheds more light on Thiagos problem at Liverpool - HITC - Football, Gaming, Movies, TV, Music - December 2nd, 2020
- Impact of Covid-19 on Garden Shed Market demand and future scope with top Key players Backyard Products, Newell Rubbermaid, Craftsman, Lifetime... - December 2nd, 2020
- Advent a time to shed mediocrity and indifference, pope tells cardinals - Crux Now - December 2nd, 2020
- A27 at Lewes partially blocked after lorry sheds its load - Sussex Express - December 2nd, 2020
- Pet Connection: The first pedigreed cat 'made in America,' the Maine coon has its charms - GoErie.com - December 2nd, 2020
- AXA sheds Gulf insurance operations - ITIJ - December 2nd, 2020
- Fire damages shed and garage in Colebrookdale Township - Boyertown Berk Montgomery Newspapers - December 2nd, 2020
- Research Sheds New Light on Genetic Risk Factors That Make Individuals More or Less Susceptible to Severe COVID-19 - HospiMedica - December 2nd, 2020
- Storm cell picks up sheds, tears off section of roofs in Alfredton, Ballarat - ABC News - November 23rd, 2020
- Special Collections speaker sheds light on the living work of the archive - The Bowdoin Orient - November 23rd, 2020
- Incident at West Valley high school sheds light on mental health toll in the pandemic - 12news.com KPNX - November 23rd, 2020
- Lewis Hamilton sheds light on the role Ross Brawn and Niki Lauda played in convincing him to join... - The Sportsrush - November 23rd, 2020
- Book sheds light on the tragedy of Balochistan under Pakistan - The Sunday Guardian - November 23rd, 2020
- Don't leave it to the last minute; get that calf shed cleaned out for spring now - Agriland - November 23rd, 2020
- Are E-cigarettes Safer Than Cigarettes? Study Sheds Light on the Issue - Newswise - November 23rd, 2020
- F1 2021 Calendar: Outgoing F1 CEO Chase Carey sheds light on the number of potential races in the upcoming... - The Sportsrush - November 23rd, 2020
- Boys plant business helps family move from shed to apartment during COVID-19 - New York Post - November 23rd, 2020
- This kid's love of Cheetos led him to start a business that helped his family move from a shed into an apartment - CNN - November 23rd, 2020
- Not all Native Americans celebrate Thanksgiving. Find out why. - Fall River Herald News - November 23rd, 2020
- Australia bribe scandal sheds light on Iraq oil corruption | | AW - The Arab Weekly - November 23rd, 2020
- Early morning fire damages shed, siding to home on Birch Lane - The Suffolk News-Herald - Suffolk News-Herald - November 23rd, 2020
- 'The Dead Are Arising' Sheds Light On Malcolm X And Those That Influenced Him - NPR - November 1st, 2020
- Dow sheds more than 900 points as surging virus cases lead to shutdowns - BetaBoston - November 1st, 2020
- Police, prisons, and protests: recent poll sheds light on the opinions of student voters - rvahub.com - November 1st, 2020
- Persistent Ramsgate thief who targeted cars and garden sheds is jailed - The Isle of Thanet News - November 1st, 2020
- New Study Sheds Light on the Virtues of E-Cars - Pipeline Technology Journal - November 1st, 2020
- Storage Sheds Market to Witness a Pronounce Growth During 2026 - News by aeresearch - November 1st, 2020
- Barry Empire Sheds Light on How to Start and Make Your E-Commerce Business Wildly Successful - Influencive - November 1st, 2020
- Global Plastic Sheds Market 2020 Trending Technologies, Developments, Key Players and End-use Industry to 2025 - Illadel Graff Supply - November 1st, 2020
- Ahead of the Election, New Tools Help NYU Researchers Shed Light on the Internet's Dark Power - NYU News - November 1st, 2020
- Svindal interview sheds light on the Attacking Viking's 'secret sauce' - SkiRacing.com - November 1st, 2020
- Imaging Method Sheds New Light on Molecules that Help Shield HIV - Medical Device and Diagnostics Industry - November 1st, 2020
- N.J. refinery about to shed jobs at the worst time | Editorial - nj.com - November 1st, 2020
- Intel may have just shed its most intimate CPU secrets - TechRadar - November 1st, 2020
- Government Records Shed Light on Illegal Expulsions of Asylum Seekers and Children - Human Rights First - November 1st, 2020
- Documents Shed Light On Some Of The Problems With The Illinois Department Of Employment Security Callback System - CBS Chicago - November 1st, 2020
- Surviving the Aftermath sheds its Epic exclusivity and launches on Steam - PC Gamer - October 23rd, 2020
- Marcos and Soldado: Colombian Shootout Sheds Light on Balkan Drug Ties - Balkan Insight - October 23rd, 2020
- Sacrificial llamas found buried in Peru shed light on Incan rituals - The Guardian - October 23rd, 2020
- Golden Brooks sheds light on breast cancer in 'A Long Look in the Mirror' - New York Post - October 23rd, 2020
- Film Review: 'The Trial of the Chicago 7' sheds light on historic moment - Northdallasgazette - October 23rd, 2020
- 'Good-looking for an Asian': how I shed white ideals of masculinity - The Guardian - October 23rd, 2020
- 215-Million-Year-Old Fossil from Greenland Sheds Light on Origin of Mammals | Paleontology - Sci-News.com - October 23rd, 2020
- Are employers using the pandemic as cover to shed older workers? - MarketWatch - October 23rd, 2020
- Neighbour suffers burns trying to put out shed fire - CTV Toronto - October 23rd, 2020