Covid-19 in wastewater data now publicly available



The National Institute for Communicable Diseases (NICD) said whether they are symptomatic or not, people infected with Covid-19 can shed the virus through their feces.

The NICD said global experience shows that the concentration of coronavirus in wastewater reflects the burden of disease in the community.

Variants of Covid-19 can be identified in wastewater by detecting single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) specific to each variant.

SARS-CoV-2 is shed in the stool of symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals, but is not transmitted fecal-orally or via wastewater.

The NICD recently launched a dashboard allowing the public to access surveillance data for the detection of Covid-19 in sewage in South Africa.

Executive Director Professor Adrian Puren said the technology is impressive.

“It enables public health decision makers and policy makers to make informed and timely decisions that can be of great benefit to communities.”

According to Puren, the dashboard was developed to allow users to view the real-time concentration of Covid-19 detected at each treatment plant.

“Additionally, trends in SARS-CoV-2 wastewater levels can be monitored across different time points, alongside the number of laboratory-confirmed cases in the subdistrict where these treatment plants are located.

“In addition to monitoring disease transmission at the community level, the dashboard also serves as an early warning sign of potential outbreaks,” Puren adds.

The dashboard shows the Covid-19 values ​​from 87 wastewater treatment plants in all provinces.

According to NICD, the wastewater treatment plants will be tested by the institute and its collaborating partner laboratories, collectively known as the South African Collaborative COVID-19 Environmental Surveillance System (SACCESS).

To view and interact with the dashboard, click here.

On Monday, South Africa identified 3,237 new cases of Covid-19 over the past 24 hours.

This brings the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 3,844,625 and corresponds to a positivity rate of 18.7%.

The country also reported 10 deaths, 4 of which occurred in the last 24 to 48 hours. This brings the total death toll to 100,533 to date.

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