Page 7 - Marlene Wolfe News Today

The same wastewater surveillance techniques that have emerged as a critical tool in early detection of covid-19 outbreaks are being adapted for use in monitoring the startling spread of monkeypox across the San Francisco Bay Area and some other U.S. communities.

With wastewater surveillance already proving to be a vital tool in tracking COVID levels in the Bay Area, can that help detect monkeypox and other diseases?

Wastewater testing has proved a reliable early alarm bell for covid outbreaks. US researchers are now adapting the approach to track the explosive spread of monkeypox.

Wastewater testing has proved a reliable early alarm bell for COVID-19 outbreaks. U.S. researchers are now adapting the approach to track the explosive spread of monkeypox, and maybe other viruses.

Amplifying Atlanta

Areas surveilling wastewater to track COVID are experimenting with predicting monkeypox cases and the relative risks of monkeypox transmission with virus prevalence.

While it’s theoretically possible for rats and mice to become a US reservoir of monkeypox, the experts we talked to said virus-containing wastewater is not a concern at the moment — and you definitely don’t need to bleach your toilet water.

The effort expands on a previous initiative in Northern California that provided the only reported detections of monkeypox genetic material in sewage.

A New York man is now paralyzed due to polio. Why aren't public health agencies testing wastewater for the virus?

Evidence of the monkeypox virus has shown up in Bay Area wastewater since mid-June, indicating the presence of infection, according to data from Stanford Universitys Sewer Coronavirus Alert Network.