Thought of the Day - April 1 2021 - Are We In Deep Doo-Doo?

Back last summer we talked about monitoring waste for SARS-CoV-2 residue ( Thought of the Day - July 6 - Oh Shi-ooot ). Wastewater sampling is a great way to get a general understanding of the level of infection in a community, and in the fullness of time to confirm that COVID-19 infections have subsided.

Dr. Natalie Prystajecky, program head of the public health lab at the BC Centre for Disease Control, says:

• Studying the virus in wastewater means researchers can look at an entire population, rather than an individual person;

• Studies have demonstrated that about 50 percent of COVID-19 cases have the virus in their feces;

• The virus that causes COVID-19 is non-infectious in feces and wastewater.

I was pleased to see there is a New Online Tool that allows Metro Vancouver residents to follow the viral load of COVID-19 found in untreated wastewater at each of the region's five wastewater treatment plants.

While there are some gaps in the data, it tells an interesting story. Here is the chart for the Annacis Island treatment plant that services most of Burnaby.

From the start of the second wave into November last year:

And where we are today:

You can clearly see that the amount of virus residue today is about two and a half times higher than in the fall. They are using the same scale, and there are no notes stating that the detection system has been adjusted over the last four months. I was thinking this might be something to do with stormwater overflow into wastewater or something, but looking into it, the management of the storm sewers is distinct from waste water. In short, I could not find a reason to doubt the figures. All and all this does not look like a good sign.

Cheers

Cliff