Researchers Seek a Simple, Rapid Test for SARS-CoV-2 in Sewage

Onsite testing at wastewater treatment plants could aid efforts to monitor for outbreaks of COVID-19 around the world, but such technologies are in the early stages of development.

Written byJef Akst

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As SARS-CoV-2 was spreading through his home country of China early this year, biomedical engineer Zhugen Yang realized that his expertise in both sensory technology and wastewater monitoring could be the perfect combination for helping to track COVID-19 outbreaks. Yang had previously created field-ready diagnostic assays for pathogens in bodily fluids (cow and human). He had also helped develop sensors for monitoring wastewater—initially for cocaine and methamphetamine, and then for sequences of human mitochondrial DNA, which can serve as biomarkers for various cancers. Now at Cranfield University in the UK, Yang decided he would develop an easy-to-use, low-cost test to check for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 at wastewater treatment plants.

In recent months, wastewater epidemiology—specifically, the idea of looking to sewage to detect and quantify infections in local populations—has become a popular approach for tracking the pandemic. Several studies suggest that SARS-CoV-2, while rarely released in ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
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Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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