The last issue of Wiley's Research Headlines highlighted part one of a study in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry that involved analysis of sludge from a wastewater treatment plant in Connecticut, and revealed trends in levels of chemicals such as pharmaceuticals and drugs during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
When investigators analyzed primary sludge collected during the first wave of COVID-19 (March 19 to June 30, 2020) at a wastewater treatment plant in Connecticut, they found trends in the presence of chemicals that related directly to the pandemic-;for example, hydroxychloroquine had elevated concentrations in the week following Emergency Use Authorization of the drug for the treatment of COVID-19.
Beyond COVID-19: Waste testing a vast public health frontier
Annabelle Pan, a research scientist in Jordan Peccia s lab at Yale University, examines sludge samples.
As scientists measure the prevalence of COVID-19 in the sludge flowing from New Haven sewage treatment plants, they’re also finding that our biological waste can tell them much more about our collective pathologies.
Between March 19 and June 30, a group of scientists tested waste that had previously been used to detect COVID-19, looking for drugs and chemicals. The researchers found significant increases in three opioids, four antidepressants, and other chemicals in sludge from New Haven.
The analysis, by scientists from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station (CAES) and Yale University, offered the first glimpses of how the pandemic’s stay-at-home orders affected people’s behavior. It also underscored how important human waste can be as a resource for understanding public health and society’s habits.
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