A Massachusetts company that has been analyzing Boston-area sewage for COVID-19 has been selected by the federal government to launch a national wastewater-based coronavirus monitoring program.
Cambridge-based Biobot Analytics has been tracking wastewater at Massachusetts Water Resources Authority’s Deer Island Treatment Plant throughout the pandemic. Detection in sewage can head off outbreaks.
The company was selected by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to analyze samples from 320 wastewater treatment plants, covering 100 million people across the country.
“With this contract, hundreds of local communities across the country will be able to leverage data from wastewater to stay on top of COVID-19, especially as we move into later stages of the pandemic and clinical testing ramps down,” Newsha Ghaeli, Biobot’s president and co-founder, told the Boston Herald.
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Traces of COVID in Greater Boston wastewater showing steady decline
Updated Feb 03, 2021;
Traces of COVID in wastewater samples from the Boston metropolitan area have declined in recent weeks, according to data from the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.
The reduction in viral RNA from wastewater samples is seen on both the north and south sides of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority system, according to data released this week.
The authority embarked on a pilot study to measure viral particles in wastewater, sampling for data three times a week. The Deer Island Treatment Plant, where researchers are analyzing the findings, removes pollutants from wastewater in 43 Greater Boston communities.
Levels of COVID-19 detected in wastewater in the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority system are on the rise after holding steady through December, according.