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Sweden Enters Coronavirus Critical Phase: Wastewater Testing Introduced

Sweden water and

Sewage wastewater focal point of understanding the coronavirus pandemic

As Sweden enters its Coronavirus critical phase, sewage wastewater becomes a focal point of understanding SARS-CoV-2.

The country’s chief epidemiologist Anders Tegnell warned the Swedish public that a new intensive phase of the Coronavirus outbreak is headed their way. Testing Sweden’s wastewater for the presence of SARS-CoV-2 now plays a major part in the effort to better understand the virus’ reach among the general public.

Sewage water can reveal what testing cannot, that is, the real scale of the virus and how many people it might have actually affected.

This kind of testing could also serve as a future early sign of a second coronavirus wave, according to Swedish scientists.

 

Sweden's state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell
Sweden’s state epidemiologist Anders Tegnell

 

It takes only 3 days for the novel coronavirus to appear in human faeces. This poses a major scientific discovery because in the understanding of the disease as it means that the virus can be detected much sooner; especially if people wait to display symptoms of COVID-19, which can take up to two weeks.

Monitoring wastewater could give officials a much needed head start, allowing them to take measures on time and avoid a larger outbreak.

Although this type of early warning cannot pinpoint the exact person who’s having coronavirus in their system, it can alert the authorities about the virus’ arrival in a given community and allow for an immediate lockdown of these affected areas.

 

Medical Ventilators for Invasive / Noninvasive Treatment 

Coronavirus outbreak poses unprecedented environmental safety hazard

As the country entered an intensive phase, the Swedish government plans to introduce tax breaks for small companies and bring stranded Swedes home.

Testing wastewater for coronavirus is not a Swedish invention. In fact, many research groups around the world began testing wastewater for SARS-CoV-2 in a bid to place a reliable estimate on the overall number of infected people in a particular community, as many of the people there would not be tested.

Until now, research groups have found such wastewater tracer in the US and the Netherlands.

 

Swedish river and buildings.

 

Despite the widespread shut-downs

Another major obstacle for doing such research is the limited number of reagent to conduct such testes as well as the global shut-downs of laboratories and universities that could carry such an ambitious task. Research groups are already experiencing shortages due to the economic strain while governments are in a race to come up with a working vaccine to end it all.

Cetecioglu Gurol, Associate Professor at the Division of Resource Recovery organization, and whose research focuses on recovering biochemical resources from wastewater, warns that recovering the coronavirus from sewage is much more difficult than expected as wastewater is far more complicated than regular contaminated liquids, adding that “there are a lot of things in it besides the virus.”

Meanwhile in the Netherlands

The dutch authorities aim at reaching the same estimate as their Swedish counterparts, intending to test the wastewater from more than a million of people.

Such wastewater surveillance on a massive scale could account for the people who have not been tested, says microbiologist Gertjan Medema — the chief microbiologist at KWR Water Research Institute in Nieuwegein, the Netherlands.

Coronavirus vaccine testing.

Detecting the SARS-CoV-2 genetic material is not as easy as it may look

The goal of “diving” head first into wastewater is to prevent the coronavirus infection from spreading covertly again causing a new massive outbreak among the population.

The entire process rests on making accurate RNA extrapolations of the amount of infected people–who would remain under the radar–by determining the scale of the infection from dirty water samples.

The main challenges of doing so is making sure that the samples obtained by mass testing are truly indicative of what is excreted by the population and not just a misleading snapshot.

Wastewater surveillance hence needs to be conducted properly and be feasible in the long run.

Wastewater pipes flowing water out.

Wastewater as the new early warning sign of COVID-19

Wastewater testing can become the new early-warning sign of a second wave, says Ana Maria de Roda Husman, an infectious disease researcher at the Dutch National Institute for Public Health and the Environment.

Before the coronavirus outbreak, the Institute has been monitoring the sewage water for the presence of novovirus, poliovirus, measles and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

A coordinated effort between Sweden and China

The Chinese team in charge of the coronavirus force in Beijing looks on the future cooperation between China and Sweden as a mutually beneficial relationship

In 2019, the Chinese IVL kick-started its project to treat pharmaceutical residue in wastewater in a wastewater treatment plant in Sweden.

This type of cooperation would be of extreme importance in the overall effort to handle the coronavirus pandemic in both countries.

 

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Coronavirus Vaccine Tested in UK: ChAdOx1 nCoV-19

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Coronavirus Vaccine Tested in UK: ChAdOx1 nCoV-19

Clinical trials for a COVID-19 vaccine are under way in Oxford

The prototype vaccine named ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 has been administered to 1,112 healthy volunteers, part of a University of Oxford vaccinated group.

The clinical trial with the upcoming “Chadox” vaccine will produce definitive results about its effectiveness against the COVID-19 pandemic in 6 months time, when final assessment about its efficacy will be made.

What needs to be assessed is the ability of candidate vaccine to create an immune response strong enough to tackle the novel coronavirus.

So far Oxford University is feeling rather optimistic about its vaccine development and plans to produce millions of doses before the end of 2020.

For now the only option for giving severe coronavirus patients a chance of recovering is invasive or non invasive medical ventilators and–where such devices are not available–BiPAP and CPAP machines.

The first phase of the clinical trial was initiated on April 23. The vaccine is based on the common cold virus, called adenovirus.

The new vaccine construct uses the adenovirus to create a material similar to the genetic code of SARS-Cov-2 in order to make a spike protein.

The spike protein plays a vital role in connecting to particular human receptors of cell surfaces and in turn help the body react to it and make antibodies against the spike protein.

This immune response will stop the virus from entering the cells in the first place and cause the COVID-19 infection.

 

Safe, but has some side effects

Oxford University has been using adenovirus vaccines on 320 volunteers who took it really well. The vaccine is deemed safe although it has some side effect like headache, fever and soreness in the arm.

So far the ChAdOx1 nCov-19 experimental vaccine has been tested on six macaque monkeys, managing to successfully protect them from the virus for almost a month, boosting the confidence of the Oxford researchers about its efficacy.

Until now around 1,110 volunteers from London, Southhampton, Bristol and Oxford have been administered the candidate vaccine. Aged between 18 and 55, both male and female volunteers have taken part in the trial.

Administering the vaccines to volunteers

The participants in the human trial have been randomly selected to be injected with either the candidate vaccine or a ‘control’ vaccine such as the MenACWY vaccine, which protects against meningococcal bacteria.

None of the participants in the trial will know which vaccine they have been injected with. Then the research group will gradually assess the participants’ immune system response and evaluate the results.

When will we have definitive results?

The timeline for the trial depends on the results of phase 1 testing. After phase 1 there will be phase 2 and phase 3 trials, which may combine into one and shorten the overall trail timeline and produce definitive results sooner than expected.

If the results are encouraging enough, mass production of the vaccine will take place by the end of June and be available to the general public as soon as the end of 2020, with more than 60 million doses expected to be manufactured initially.

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Boris Johnson returns to Downing Street to lead Coronavirus response

Boris Johnson returns to Downing Street to lead Coronavirus response

Boris Johnson returns to Downing Street to lead Coronavirus response

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson is back to Downing Street to take charge of the response to the coronavirus outbreak.

Mr Johnson is to chair the regular morning cabinet meeting on the Coronavirus pandemic and later talk to government officials and ministers.

The Prime minister entered No 10 on Sunday evening after Tory MPs began pressuring him to lift the lockdown.

 

Is this the time to ease up?

Health Minister Edward Argar announced that, accordding to him, “now is not the time to ease up” despite the growing discontent voiced from the British public.

According to the latest date, the official figures of Coronavirus deaths in UK hospitals is 20,732.

Is Boris Johnson fully recovered?

One month after Mr Johnson was told he had COVID-19 and a week in St Thomas’ Hospital, the Prime Minister is back to Downing Street to resume his full-time duties and meet with senior ministers.

It is still uncertain whether Mr Johnson will lead the press briefing scheduled for Monday, but would be undoubtedly impressive to see him do so after recovering from COVID-19 and spending three days in intensive care.

 

In other news:

Elon Musk says he sent ventilators to California hospitals, they say they got CPAP and BiPAP machines instead

“We received six CPAPs and we are very grateful for the gift,” said a spokesperson for Sonoma Valley Hospital. Another Californian hospital Mammoth Hospital also said it received 10 bilevel machines from Tesla. “They’re not full ventilators but there are lots of people that need breathing assistance,” a spokesperson said, calling the donation “very gracious.”

Los Angeles County officials said they received from Tesla 100 bilevel units manufactured by ResMed in late March. The Resmed devices have been donated to US hospitals and are being used as intended. These units are used for breathing and airway support, reducing the need for certain patients to be placed on mechanical ventilation.

To ease or not to ease?

Whether to ease to lockdown or to extend it is a question the public expects answered without further delay, most likely in the next few days.

Limits on daily life were enforced on 23 March, with the public asked to stay at home, businesses asked to temporarily shut down and people asked to avoid  gatherings of more than 2 at time.

Currently, all ministers are obligated by law to make assessments on whether the strict rules are having the desired effect every three weeks. Next Thursday (7 May) the next evaluation will take place.

Social distancing across the UK

The current social distancing measures have caused the frustration of a large number of UK citizens, many of whom are wondering when the lockdown will end. Supermarkets have remained open as long as social distancing inside are followed.

Avoiding the second wave is top priority

China has already expecting a second wave of the pandemic as Beijing takes steps to stop a recurrence of the first COVID-19 wave. The most important decision of Mr Johnson and his team is how and when to gradually remove the lockdown announced on 23 March.

The ease off of restrictions needs to happen due to the severe economic harm and the massive strain on the NHS to handle the outbreak.

Many fear that a second COVID-19 wave would be far more deadly than the first one which makes the decision when and how to lift the lockdown a crucial point in the current situation.

Frances O’Grady, head of the umbrella group for unions the Trades Union Congress (TUC), expressed his opinion that social distancing must continue even when the lockdown is no more. Mr O’Grady also said that risk assessments in every workplace and safe transport should also remain present whether or not lockdown continues or nor.

Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said on Sunday that social distancing would remain for “some time” in the UK and that restoring the normal way of life cannot be prolonged for too long.

What happens around the world?

Meanwhile, countries like Belgium, Germany and Denmark have expressed their intention of partially re-opening some businesses and schools.

Professor Stephen Powis, the NHS England medical director, shared during the daily No 10 briefing that: “My fear is that those curves won’t continue to be on a downward trend, but will start to go on an upward trend. We are not at a point where any of us can be absolutely confident that that’s not going to be the case.”

Meanwhile, Mr Raab insisted the government continue to fulfil is daily target of coronavirus 100,000 tests.

The end of lockdown will be decided by tests

Priti Patel has said that removing the coronavirus restrictions across the country will not be a binary choice and that the government would not give a date for the end of lockdown. The home secretary added that five tests will have to be met before schools can reopen but said giving a date ‘would be irresponsible and get hopes up’