Queensland Health partnered with UQ and the CSIRO earlier this year to roll out wastewater monitoring in selected areas of the state, to act as an early warning system for potential outbreaks of the virus.
The system used by the researchers takes the samples from wastewater treatment plants and scans them for any DNA fragments that match SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.
The data by its very nature is broad-scale, and is intended to raise the alarm for authorities to focus more testing if they get a positive result, as appears to have happened in this case.
The state’s Chief Health Officer, Dr Jeannette Young, said the test returned what appears to be a positive result about two weeks ago, but they were still working through all the data to confirm the reading.
“We don’t know what this means because you might remember we’ve had a number of ships there off the coast with positive cases,” Dr Young said.
“So we’re just not sure where this might have come from, but it doesn’t really matter – the response is there and that’s the important thing.”
Loading
Dr Young said because Airlie Beach is a tourist destination, it is possible someone travelled to the area while carrying viral DNA, but the testing does not give a good indication of whether they would have been infectious when they were in the area.
The researchers who developed the technology to screen wastewater for coronavirus have also called for it to be used in a more active way to screen incoming passengers on planes and cruise ships.
There has been no indication from health authorities whether the technology will be used in that way in the near future.
Queensland recorded two more cases of COVID-19 on Thursday, both in the south-east corner of the state, bringing the number of active cases to 30, out of a total of 1128.
More than 14,000 swab tests have been carried out in the 24 hours to Thursday, as health authorities try to get on top of the current cluster linked to the Brisbane Youth Detention Centre
Stuart Layt covers health, science and technology for the Brisbane Times. He was formerly the Queensland political reporter for AAP.
Most Viewed in National
Loading
https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMijAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5icmlzYmFuZXRpbWVzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9xdWVlbnNsYW5kL2ZldmVyLWNsaW5pYy1zZXQtdXAtaW4tYWlybGllLWJlYWNoLWFmdGVyLXZpcnVzLWRldGVjdGVkLWluLXNld2FnZS0yMDIwMDkwMy1wNTVzMWYuaHRtbNIBjAFodHRwczovL2FtcC5icmlzYmFuZXRpbWVzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9xdWVlbnNsYW5kL2ZldmVyLWNsaW5pYy1zZXQtdXAtaW4tYWlybGllLWJlYWNoLWFmdGVyLXZpcnVzLWRldGVjdGVkLWluLXNld2FnZS0yMDIwMDkwMy1wNTVzMWYuaHRtbA?oc=5
2020-09-03 02:48:00Z
CBMijAFodHRwczovL3d3dy5icmlzYmFuZXRpbWVzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9xdWVlbnNsYW5kL2ZldmVyLWNsaW5pYy1zZXQtdXAtaW4tYWlybGllLWJlYWNoLWFmdGVyLXZpcnVzLWRldGVjdGVkLWluLXNld2FnZS0yMDIwMDkwMy1wNTVzMWYuaHRtbNIBjAFodHRwczovL2FtcC5icmlzYmFuZXRpbWVzLmNvbS5hdS9uYXRpb25hbC9xdWVlbnNsYW5kL2ZldmVyLWNsaW5pYy1zZXQtdXAtaW4tYWlybGllLWJlYWNoLWFmdGVyLXZpcnVzLWRldGVjdGVkLWluLXNld2FnZS0yMDIwMDkwMy1wNTVzMWYuaHRtbA
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Fever clinic set up in Airlie Beach after virus detected in sewage - Brisbane Times"
Post a Comment