Researchers using human excrement to track COVID infections

Columbus, Ohio — Ohio was one of the first of a vast network of at least 37 states to study when the next wave of COVID-19 will hit.

And scientists are focusing on human excrement as an important possible indicator.

According to the state’s coronavirus website, studies in the United States and elsewhere have shown that non-infectious RNA (ribonucleic acid) from the virus that causes COVID-19 (called SARS-CoV-2) is symptomatic and asymptomatic. Asymptomatic infected individuals can be detected in wastewater 3-7 days before these infections lead to increased cases and hospitalizations.

Scientists argue that by monitoring wastewater, this can serve as an early warning of an increase in disease in the community. It can lead to increased testing or other mitigation efforts to help control spread.

Below is a snapshot of Franklin County’s COVID since the pandemic began.

Notice that our biggest wave happened in the delta wave last winter and summer.

According to a review of 10 Investigates data, monitoring our wastewater appeared to have been picked up in each of these mountains in the days prior to the increase in cases.

A series of emails retrieved by 10Investigates also seems to confirm this.

In an email sent by the Ohio Department of Health to both Columbus Public Health and Franklin County Health on November 23, 2020, the state stated that wastewater results from the Franklin County wastewater treatment plant “showed the highest average gene copy.” …to date.”

These samples were collected on November 11, 15, and 17, 2020.

On November 14, 2020, Franklin County recorded more than 600 cases.

By November 23 of that year (when the email arrived at the Health Departments of Columbus and Franklin County), cases had peaked at over 1,200 in a single day.

Collaboration by Ohio State University, Kent State University, and others who are part of Ohio’s wastewater monitoring network is also predicting other surges.

In an email sent on July 12, 2021, the Ohio Department of Health warned of “a recent increase in viral gene copies at Jackson County wastewater treatment plants.”

In an email obtained by 10 Investigates, wastewater data collected in early July began to show increased traces of the COVID-19 gene in human waste.

Looking back at the map above, Franklin County recorded only 36 cases on July 6.

By the next week, they had doubled.

By the end of July, when the delta wave was still in its early stages of ascent, Franklin County’s cases had increased to 136 on July 31.

These two graphs, published in the US EPA report, show how closely COVID detection in wastewater is associated with future cases.

Earlier this month, 10 Investigates were granted access to Ohio State University’s lab, where university scientists are tracking coronaviruses in wastewater.

In a lab supervised by Dr. Lee, undergraduate and graduate students filter wastewater to remove anything larger than the virus. The goal is to ensure that sampling obtains accurate measurements of COVID-19 gene particles within the community. The lab has several steps needed to finally prepare the sample to be tested using the PCR method. This is a sensitive and accurate measurement of COVID-19, which is considered the “gold standard” of the test by health authorities.

According to Lee, the advantage of this study is that it can provide predictive capabilities and provide early detection warnings when the COVID-19 wave is about to spike.

In a practical sense, measuring wastewater down to manhole levels helps university staff determine if COVID-19 is occurring in one dormitory and another, and therefore by those areas. Many inspection or mitigation efforts can be provided.

“That is, many people are infected because they can determine whether the building’s population is virus-free or high-level based on the results of the wastewater. And they say this is a hotspot. You can tell, “Lee said.

More than 70 wastewater treatment plants, including two serving Columbus, are part of the state-wide network.

Zuzana Bohrerova, Ohio State University’s Ohio Water Resources Center, is committed to collecting and collecting data and providing it to the Ohio State Department of Health.

The Ohio Health Department then sends an “alert” to the local health department to let them know if there is an increase in the viral gene copy of COVID-19.

On Thursday, 10 investigators received a new email from the Lucas County Health Department – ​​indicating that there was an increase in viral gene copy on October 25 and October 28.

Lucas County has a lower case rate than neighboring counties, but seven surrounding counties, including Williams, Vanwart, Defiance, Putnam, Seneca, Fulton, and Henry, are now standardized for COVID-19 across the state. The average is the highest.

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