– This is a harmful virus that has caused excess mortality in the population. That one chooses to deprioritize this monitoring is completely incomprehensible and very sad, says infectious disease medicine and researcher Arne Søraas. Infectious disease medicine and researcher Arne Søraas. Photo: Torstein Bøe / news Throughout parts of the corona pandemic, samples of the waste water have been a useful tool for uncovering new virus variants and waves of infection. Recently, FHI announced a clear increase in corona infection in the population, and urged people in the recommended groups to get vaccinated as soon as possible. The call came in part as a result of samples taken from wastewater. Gave early warning of contamination Since its inception last year, water samples have been collected from a number of treatment plants in Norway, but the project has been scaled down along the way. FHI admits that the monitoring has provided valuable information during the pandemic. In its own evaluation of the trial project, FHI concludes that the sewage samples gave signals of a new wave of infection 1–2 weeks earlier than other available monitoring systems. At the same time, new virus variants were discovered earlier. Local health authorities also benefited from the system, in order to monitor the development of infections during a period when testing activity is low. Nevertheless, the monitoring is terminated. Affected by cuts – We would have liked to have this opportunity, but we are still analyzing a selection of samples that are sent to us, and can then monitor changes in the properties of the virus, says department director Siri Laura Feruglio in the department for infection control and preparedness | The Institute of Public Health. Department director Siri Laura Feruglio in the department for infection control and preparedness at the Norwegian Institute of Public Health. Photo: Privat She points out that FHI uses several other systems to assess the infection situation. Among other things, the number of people admitted to hospitals and intensive care units, doctor’s consultations, and tests taken at selected medical centres. Last autumn, FHI was exposed to severe financial cuts, which led to a number of redundancies. At the time, then FHI director Camilla Stoltenberg warned against weakening preparedness. She also received support from research teams. Department director Feruglio confirms that the decision to discontinue virus monitoring can be linked to the financial cuts. – Yes, this was one of the measures for which the institute received temporary funds, says Feruglio. – Very sad that in 2021 the EU asked its member states to prioritize the monitoring of waste water, especially when the possibility of testing is poorer. Almost all chose to follow the call. Denmark is one of the countries that has invested heavily in this type of monitoring of infection in the population. The decision to end the project in Norway is now facing opposition from the research team. – Corona is the virus that takes the most lives in Norway now. It surprises me that you just drop this. We are losing critical information, says infectious disease medicine and corona researcher Arne Søraas. He believes that Norway is now less able to detect new corona variants that appear. – You lose an opportunity to find new varieties earlier, says Søraas. Rebecca Jane Cox, professor and head of the influenza center at the University of Bergen Photo: Christian Lura / news He receives support from Rebecca Jane Cox, professor and head of the influenza center at the University of Bergen. – It is very sad that this is ending. One should at least continue this project through the winter, when there is a lot of infection in circulation, says Cox. She believes that the monitoring of viruses in the sewers was more important earlier in the pandemic, but that it is still an important tool for getting an overview of the infection situation. – A country like Norway should be able to maintain this system, says Cox. Even if the project is halted, this does not mean that FHI is putting sewage monitoring on hold completely. In the future, more viruses may be discovered in the sewers, through a European collaborative project. – In this project, one will strengthen competence in sewage monitoring for several potentially serious infectious agents, and ensure that this can be integrated with other types of infection monitoring in Norway and Europe, says department director Siri Laura Feruglio.
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FHI stops the hunt for corona virus in the sewer
