CDC may test wastewater from airplanes for cor8k8 liveonavirus variants

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) may test wastewater from commercial airplanes traveling to the US to detect new coronavirus variants as it explores ways to slow its mutations coming from abroad.

"CDC is exploring all options to help slow the introduction of new variants into the United States from other countries," a spokesperson for the CDC told China Daily. "Previous COVID-19 wastewater surveillance has shown to be a valuable tool, and airplane wastewater surveillance could potentially be an option."

Wastewater data provides information about the spread of new variants because those who are infected shed the coronavirus in feces.

The program would test wastewater from various airports and flights and would include domestic flights. It will go ahead if airlines agree to participate.

A spokesperson for United Airlines told CNN that it had been in contact with the CDC and was "evaluating our participation".

Dr John Dennehy, a professor of biology at Queens College of the City University of New York, research virus evolution, ecology and emerging viruses in new host populations.

He was part of a team of scientists that uncovered Omicron, the highly transmissible variant of coronavirus, in New York City's wastewatwer days before it was officially found in South Africa in November 2021 and more than a week before the first case was confirmed in the US.

"A wastewater-testing program at airports, especially those serving international flights, would be a highly effective means of tracking and potentially intercepting infected individual entering the country during future pandemics,'' Dennehy told China Daily.

"If the surveillance is targeted for a specific pathogen, the results could be obtained in less than 24 hours. If pathogens are identified in the airplane's wastewater, then the CDC could follow up by testing the plane's passengers and isolating any infected individuals," he said.

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, scientists collected samples from wastewater sites in hundreds of communities to determine whether levels of the virus were rising or falling. Now 1,250 sites are testing wastewater.

Data is sent to a laboratory to determine virus levels. The analysis can detect new mutations of the virus, like Omicron, before clinical diagnosis or cases are confirmed.

Wastewater from planes could be collected from any commercial plane in a few minutes, say scientists. Samples would then be sent to a laboratory, scanned for mutations or unknown variants of COVID-19, and results could be issued in five to seven days.

Dennehy said that a CDC program would be wise to focus on international flights arriving in the US.

"These flights tend to be longer, and it's more likely that passengers will use the facilities while in transit," he said. "On landing, a sample of the plane's wastewater could be obtained and tested for pathogens.

"If pathogens are identified, the passenger manifest could be used to trace and test individuals before they disperse in the population. It's not a foolproof system, but layers of disease surveillance, including at hospitals and other major public facilities, could mitigate disease spread and lessen the chance of widespread transmission in the population."

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine also found that wastewater surveillance could provide crucial information about emerging pathogens. It recommended that screening should be expanded to include airports and sports venues.

Researchers from Bangor University in Wales collected wastewater samples from three airports: London's Heathrow Airport, Bristol Airport and Edinburgh Airport in Scotland.

At least 150 wastewater samples collected in March 2022 from the airport terminals and 32 aircraft at the airports tested positive for the coronavirus, according to a study. The findings were published in the journal Plos Global Health in January.

The agency first added a wastewater data tracker to its COVID-19 tracker on Feb 4, 2022. The data was part of the CDC's National Wastewater Surveillance System.