Experts from Sheffield say sewage could be the key to tracking second wave of coronavirus

Scientists are developing ways of using sewage to locate new infection hotspots and track a second wave of Covid-19.

An international group of water experts are researching new techniques that could identify the level of infection in a community without the need for testing individuals.

New standardised procedures could identify the virus in waste water and provide a picture of how coronavirus is spreading, the researchers said.

The group, who were brought together by the Water Research Foundation and includes engineers from the University of Sheffield, are developing a range of best practices concerning the use of sewage.

These include collecting and storing water samples and using molecular genetics tools to identify levels of Covid-19 in sewage samples.

The scientists are also developing recommended approaches for using levels of coronavirus in water samples to inform trends and estimates of the spread of the virus in communities and developing strategies to communicate the implications of the results with the public.

Professor Vanessa Speight, from the University of Sheffield's Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, is researching techniques to reliably interpret the data collected from sewage samples.

Her results could help create a more accurate map of how the virus is spreading and show the emergence of a second wave of the pandemic. She said:

The PM's official spokesman said: "Some studies have been carried out overseas on this and I think it is something we are looking at as a possible way of seeing if you could track the rate of infections locally."

The Downing Street spokesman said officials are investigating whether sewage samples would allow them to "track if the virus is more prevalent in some parts of the country than in others".

Experts said some countries are testing waste water to see if there is infection in the community.

While there is no evidence of the live virus being found in sewage or that the virus has been spread through sewerage systems, one study from the Netherlands found viral genetic material in waste water samples several weeks before the first case was detected.

A spokesman from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said:

"We are actively engaging with the research community and Government scientific advisers to investigate whether monitoring waste water could be used as a way of tracking the prevalence of the virus."