PONTIAC, MI – Oakland County is joining a pilot program aimed at predicting COVID-19 outbreaks by tracking traces of the virus in sewage, FOX 2 Detroit reports.
The plan is to test fecal samples for evidence tracers multiple times a day to determine if there are detectable levels of the virus, and if those levels are increasing or decreasing, Oakland County Water Resources Commissioner Jim Nash told the TV station. The county will start with Pontiac’s sewage system.
If the pilot finds that the indicators reliably predict outbreaks, the program could be used to alert health departments before symptoms are present in the population, according to the report. The method could also be adapted to track other illnesses.
Note, this does not mean the virus can be transmitted through fecal matter – the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports zero cases of the virus being transmitted via feces, the TV station reports.
Oakland County joins the program as Michigan faces the worst surge in COVID-19 cases to date, and amid a “three-week pause” order from the state health department to stem the spread. From Nov. 12-18, Oakland had a positive testing rate of 13.3% with 6,406 positive coronavirus tests out of the 48,124 administered. To date, Oakland County has had 32,958 confirmed cases of the virus and 1,244 related deaths, which is second only to neighboring Wayne County.
For more data on COVID-19 in Michigan, visit https://www.mlive.com/coronavirus/data/.
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