Since March, scientists have developed a national observation network, called Obépine, which can detect the presence or not of Covid-19 in our wastewater.
On the initiative of the Laboratoire Eau de Paris, but also teams from the Sorbonne University, these researchers had the idea of tracking down the virus by going to take a closer look in the water discharged from our sinks, sinks, showers and toilets, to establish, according to a region and its population, a real-time map of the spread of SARS CoV-2.
In France, nearly 80 wastewater treatment plants are playing the game, by authorizing these water samples which are then analyzed in the laboratory.
The program, which has established reliable results over the weeks, has been allocated a budget of 3.5 million euros by the Ministry of Higher Education, Research and Innovation.
While the curves of the epidemic in France are slowly starting to decline, the Laboratoire Eau de Paris continues its research by collecting more and more samples of wastewater, taken everywhere in France to possibly anticipate a 3rd wave so dreaded by all.
Indeed, wastewater monitoring has the advantage that it can be a few days ahead of the results of nasopharyngeal tests.
“The most logical explanation for us is that people with Covid-19 begin to excrete the virus via their stool, in particular, even before having symptoms.
And once the first signs appear, they will be tested, ”explains Laurent Moulin, head of the research and development laboratory at Eau de Paris.