Sewage systems are set to be used to spot early signs of coronavirus as part of a new pilot project in the UK. The Welsh Government has given almost £500,000 to a consortium led by Bangor University, working with Cardiff University, Public Health Wales and Dwr Cymru Welsh Water.
They are developing a monitoring programme that can measure the presence of Covid-19 in waste water. Presence of the virus in human waste is common in almost all confirmed coronavirus cases.
The move comes after a waste water study in Italy showed that the coronavirus might have been present in the country as early as December.
Coronavirus has also been found in sewage in China. Sampling will begin almost immediately in a small number of water treatment plants,