To help contain and control the identification of COVID-19 in our society, wastewater-based epidemiology has played a crucial role in managing the local public health response – and explaining how this has occurred will be the focus of the next Flinders University’s Meet The Minds virtual lecture series.

“Wastewater-based epidemiology and the COVID-19 public health response” will be an online presentation held from 12.30pm to 1pm on Friday 23 April – and will be presented by Professor Howard Fallowfield, aquatic microbial ecologist from the College of Science and Engineering.

The lecture will explain that the SARS-CoV-2 virus is excreted in body fluids of symptomatic and asymptomatic cases, and this enables sewage surveillance of populations for prevalence of the virus. This made headlines locally in early March, when high levels of coronavirus were detected in sewage from the north-eastern portion of Adelaide’s CBD, where the majority of Adelaide Fringe festival events are held. Ongoing monitoring work has also been detailed in SA Health’s COVID-19 Wastewater Surveillance webpage.

The seminar will discuss the application of the sewage surveillance technique and its contribution to the management of the pandemic. Professor Fallowfield’s address will be followed by online audience Q&A session. Register to log into this online lecture via Eventbrite.