Recognising Infectious Outbreaks Earlier and Predicting Them More Precisely
In the »SARS-CoV-2 wastewater monitoring in Thuringia« (CoMoTH) pilot project, scientists at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar are researching how area-wide wastewater monitoring can be used as an early warning system against coronavirus outbreaks. To mark the start of the project, Thuringia’s Minister of Science Wolfgang Tiefensee presented funding in the amount of 370,000 euros to the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and its industrial partner, measurement technology company Analytik Jena GmbH, on Wednesday, 20 October.
An area-wide wastewater monitoring system is to be created in Thuringia that can be used to detect various viruses, antibiotic resistances and other microbiological residues. For example, the system can be used to detect and contain coronavirus outbreaks at an early stage. Research partners Bauhaus-Universität Weimar and Analytik Jena GmbH want to further develop available methods and technologies for this purpose, which can be used to examine municipal wastewater. These are to be adapted to the conditions in Thuringia and tested in a pilot phase.
Within the framework of the research project, more than 1,000 wastewater samples from 20 sewage treatment plants – and thus from about one-third of the Thuringian population – will initially be analysed and evaluated over several months. Suitable sampling points have already been identified in recent weeks. The analysis data obtained are to be digitally processed and made available to various institutions – especially the public health offices. »Establishing a wastewater monitoring system can help to detect outbreaks of infection earlier and predict them more precisely«, said Tiefensee at the handover of the funding. »The aim of the project is to use Thuringia as a case study to expand existing expertise in the field of wastewater analysis and to develop recommendations for a nationwide introduction«, the Minister added.
The Thuringian Ministry of Economics is supporting the project with 370,000 euros, whereby the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar receives 300,000 euros. In July, the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar had already received around 60,000 euros to purchase appropriate laboratory equipment, in particular for a thermocycler, a homogeniser and a fully automatic extraction machine for DNA/RNA from various samples.
»The funding enables us to break new ground in water and wastewater research and at the same time achieve direct added value for the region«, explains Prof. Dr. Silvio Beier, head of the Bauhaus Institute for Future-Oriented Infrastructure Systems at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar (b.is). Beier holds the professorship for Technologies of Urban Material Flow Uses at the Faculty of Civil Engineering and coordinates the CoMoTH project. He adds: »Water and health play a central role when it comes to quality of life. Accordingly, innovative, scientific approaches are required to use information from wastewater in a value-creating manner.«
University President Prof. Dr. Winfried Speitkamp also underlines the relevance of the project, emphasising: »The project is an excellent example of how top-level scientific research at the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar contributes to finding solutions for current social issues.« The grant will enable the university to further expand its expertise in the field of wastewater-based epidemiology, which is highly important not only in the current pandemic situation, but also for future developments.