Wastewater surveillance helps monitor COVID-19 increases

MADISON, Wis. -- With fewer COVID-19 patients heading to the doctor's office to get tested, scientists are turning to wastewater to track disease trends.

"The basic idea is that people are infected with the virus, whether they have symptoms or not, and they will shed that virus in their feces," said Dr. Amy Kirby, chief science officer for the National Wastewater Surveillance System.

This summer, the wastewater is showing an upward trend in contaminations. Experts say it's thanks to two new variants--the FLiRT and the LB.1.

"We can take a sample and it represents all the people, all the toilets that were flushed in that community," said Kirby. "So we do think wastewater has the possibility of being like a weather report for the health in your community."

According to the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, 11 of the 45 wastewater monitoring sites around the state are showing significant increases in COVID-19 and 10 more are showing moderate increases.

To view the wastewater data in your community, visit the Center of Disease Control and Prevention dashboard .

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