The U.K. has instituted a National Wastewater Epidemiology Surveillance Program to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 virus responsible for COVID-19 in sewage. Data demonstrated that it is possible to detect one case per 10,000 residents contributing to a sewage system. Surveillance in schools has demonstrated an increase in recovery from sewage approximately one week before an upsurge in community cases.
The program now includes 200 sites in England covering 80 percent of the population. A similar program has been initiated in Australia where the approach has been used to monitor norovirus and polio. Surveillance for cholera in sewage has been applied in New Orleans for many decades.
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