A Washington Post article highlights a potentially serious COVID-19 outbreak caught early at the University of Arizona campus from an unconventional screening approach: wastewater sampling.

The approach is an alternative becoming more widely used around the world as research finds COVID-19 can survive in wastewater. It offers some advantages over individual testing. Wastewater testing can potentially detect the virus in asymptomatic patients who would not otherwise seek testing. It also screens large populations more efficiently.

The virus was found to be present in the University of Arizona dormitory’s sewage, prompting university health officials to test its residents and in so doing found two positive cases. The two individuals were isolated, and contact traced.

You can read the full article from the Washington Post at: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2020/08/28/arizona-coronavirus-wastewater-testing