Japanese researchers confirm coronavirus testing in sewers as possible outbreak warning system
17/06/2020 03:43
By Rocky Swift
TOKYO, June 17 (Reuters) - Japanese researchers confirmed
the presence of the coronavirus in wastewater plants, a finding
that could serve as a signal for future outbreaks.
The study tested water from four treatment plants in
Ishikawa and Toyama prefectures in western Japan. Out of 27
samples, 7 were positive for the SARS-CoV2 virus, according to a
preprint of a study by Toyama Prefectural University, Kanazawa
University and Kyoto University.
The findings mirror similar studies in Australia, the United
States, and Europe. Public health experts say such sampling
could be used to estimate the number of infected people in a
region without testing every individual. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N2CI4N3
urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL3N2C4146
"Sewage testing is used as an early warning system to
alert people about (possibly unnoticed) ongoing community
transmission," said Yuki Furuse, a Kyoto University professor
who wasn't directly involved in the study.
Japan is modifying its testing strategy as it braces for a
possible second wave of infections. The health ministry reported
yesterday that antibody tests of almost 8,000 people indicated a
0.1% infection rate in Tokyo, 0.17% in Osaka, and 0.03% in rural
Miyagi Prefecture.
Also yesterday, the health ministry approved the use of
antigen tests to confirm negative cases rather than repeated
polymerise chain reaction (PCR) tests. Antigen tests, produced
in Japan by a subsidiary of Miraca Holdings Inc 4544.T ,
deliver results in 10-30 minutes, compared with up to six hours
for a PCR test. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2DI0FR
(Reporting by Rocky Swift. Editing by Gerry Doyle)
((rocky.swift@thomsonreuters.com;))