Q: There have been some stories about universities testing wastewater from residence halls to detect COVID-19. Has K-State considered doing anything like that?
A: Schools are testing the sewage now? Yep, you read that right.
Several universities across the country have turned to testing wastewater for COVID-19 mitigation. Some have found that it’s more efficient than repeated testing of each person in a building.
Wastewater, as you probably know, is water that has been contaminated by human use. It’s the water that has gone down the drains, which can include sinks, dishwashers, toilets and washing machines. What they’re really testing is the human fecal matter in the water. The virus can be shed in the feces of individuals whether or not they’re symptomatic, therefore, wastewater surveillance detect both types of infection.
An Aug. 28 Washington Post article the University of Arizona was testing wastewater from residence halls to try to identify the coronavirus before it spread. Water from one dorm tested positive for the virus, so the next day the school tested all 311 residents. Three asymptomatic students positive for coronavirus and went into isolation, which may have kept more students from being exposed.
In a CBS article published Wednesday, another campus using the wastewater testing is Syracuse University in New York.
“The whole thing about infectious disease control is that you have to find the virus to stop the virus,” Dr. David Larsen, an epidemiologist and expert in global health at Syracuse University, told 60 Minutes Overtime.
At K-State, officials are aware of the wastewater testing and are looking into the viability of that as an option for the university, said Michelle Geering, public information officer.
Geering said there are no plans for that kind of testing right now, though.
The school is testing individuals who are presenting COVID-19-like symptoms and also doing “enhanced asymptomatic testing,” which involves isolated areas of congregate living among the student population, certain academic programs where prolonged close contact occurs and close contacts of positive cases.
Lafene Health Center also is conducting random voluntary COVID-19 testing of students as part of the university’s enhanced testing for asymptomatic individuals. This practice is commonly referred to as surveillance testing.
The school is generally not requiring testing at this time.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is developing a database for for state, tribal, local and territorial health departments to submit wastewater testing data.
According to the CDC website, sewage testing over time can provide trend data that can complement other surveillance data to inform public health decision making. But it’s not possible to reliably and accurately predict the number of infected individuals in a community based on sewage testing, officials said.
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