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As coronavirus cases continue to rise across Maryland, the state is looking into testing wastewater as another way to help combat the pandemic. Widespread testing is expected to begin later this month, according to Maryland鈥檚 Department of the Environment.
Last month, Gov. Lawrence J. Hogan Jr. (R) announced $1 million in funding that would go toward testing wastewater for coronavirus in vulnerable communities like correctional facilities, nursing homes, and public housing units. The testing will be led by the Department of the Environment in close coordination with the state鈥檚 health department.
鈥淭his is using cutting-edge science to have a pooled estimate of a 鈥� spread, so we can detect and respond to outbreaks particularly in vulnerable communities,鈥� Suzanne Dorsey, assistant secretary for the Department of the Environment, told Capital 草莓传媒 Service. 鈥淲e go in, do the testing then notify the health departments and housing management teams so they can respond.鈥�
This second phase of Maryland鈥檚 COVID-19 Sewer Sentinel Initiative comes after a 90-day pilot program where the department examined the effectiveness of wastewater testing in five different locations statewide from July to October.
鈥淲hat we know is people begin to shed the virus in their waste before they show any symptoms, said Dorsey. 鈥淲e are able to detect virus shed from asymptomatic spreaders, and those are the people we think are most responsible for the spread.鈥�
Birthe Kjellerup, an associate professor at the University of Maryland鈥檚 Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, said analyzing wastewater is a useful tool because it can detect potential outbreaks days in advance.
鈥淓veryone goes to the bathroom every day whether you are positive or negative,鈥� Kjellerup said. 鈥淏ut not everyone is getting regularly tested.鈥�
However, with coronavirus being so widespread throughout the state, Kjellerup said she believes testing wastewater is more effective when examining a particular facility instead of an entire area.
鈥淟et鈥檚 say over the summer when we had a relatively low number of cases, we could鈥檝e used this approach and within three to five days, say there will be a surge in this area,鈥� Kjellerup said. 鈥淲e passed those days because there are positive samples everywhere. What we now can do is put this approach into effect in smaller communities that are much more vulnerable.鈥�
There have been 236,961 confirmed coronavirus cases in Maryland as of Monday and at least 4,978 deaths, according to the state鈥檚 COVID dashboard.
Sen. Clarence Lam (D-Baltimore County) told Capital 草莓传媒 Service that he thinks testing wastewater is only a first step toward other actions that will need to happen to handle outbreaks. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the end-all be-all, nor is it a silver bullet,鈥� he said.
According to Dorsey, the department plans to test 50 locations weekly. Dorsey said this initiative is a more focused approach that will help small and vulnerable communities like nursing homes modify their own behavior or have the health department, if necessary, support the community with enhanced testing and contact tracing.
According to Maryland鈥檚 COVID dashboard, as of last week, there had been 2,478 total COVID deaths in nursing homes, group homes, and assisted living facilities.
Dr. Robert Gilman, who specializes in disease control at Johns Hopkins, said he thinks wastewater testing can be effective down the road when examining viruses and even vaccines.
鈥淚t can be a very useful tool for not only monitoring current diseases but monitoring the effects of vaccinations and the possibility of something coming back,鈥� Gilman said.
