Wastewater COVID work: SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance using GIS in Northern Ireland

Description

As SARS-CoV-2 is shed in high levels in faeces, wastewater testing has the potential to become a complementary, early-warning strategy for future ‘hot-spot’ outbreaks of Covid 19, aiding governmental decision making around future infection prevention/control policies.

Researchers at Queen’s University Belfast have developed an integrated GIS wastewater SARS-CoV-2 surveillance programme which employs standardised viral wastewater testing protocols. The development of a GIS Reporting Tool enables integration of public health data with environmental surveillance for the community monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 levels.