Wastewater samples are tested for the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, at Alberta Precision Laboratories’ lab. (Photo: Evan Isbister, Alberta Health Services)

Alberta’s largest research universities team up to track evidence of COVID-19 in wastewater of 3.2M people across Alberta

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Researchers at the University of Alberta and University of Calgary have teamed up to expand their COVID-19 wastewater monitoring programs across the province. The joint effort monitors the wastewater of approximately 3.2 million people or nearly three-quarters of the population of Alberta, via sampling at 17 wastewater treatment plants and facilities across the province. The Government of Alberta has provided $3.4 million in funding to support the program. 

“Genetic material from SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, is excreted in the feces of those who are pre-symptomatic, asymptomatic, as well as those with overt symptoms,” says Dr. Michael Parkins, MD, project co-lead, associate professor at the Cumming School of Medicine (CSM)….

https://ucalgary.ca/news/albertas-largest-research-universities-team-track-evidence-covid-19-wastewater-32m-people-across

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