"From the U.S. to Europe to Australia, scientists have detected the virus in wastewater ahead of spikes in local cases"

"David Hirschberg has a simple explanation for why a growing number of scientists are looking to sewage to help track the spread of the novel coronavirus in communities around the world.

“S--- is a great source of information,” said Hirschberg, founder of a nonprofit biotech firm and professor at the University of Washington at Tacoma. “This is the kind of early warning system you want to have. When people start showing up at hospitals and start dying, that’s not the indicator you want to have. That’s too late.”

Researchers say the virus can be detected in untreated wastewater within days of infection and as much as two weeks before a person grows ill enough to seek medical care — that is, if symptoms ever materialize at all."

Brady Dennis reports for the Washington Post May 1, 2020. [2]