Ulsan Health and Environment Research Institute, "Predicting Infectious Diseases Through Domestic Sewage"

COVID-19 Confirmed Cases and Sewage Virus Concentration Survey

Correlation Confirmed in 'Sewage-Based Infectious Disease Surveillance Project'

Ulsan City plans to expand its project of predicting infectious disease outbreaks by analyzing domestic sewage.

The Ulsan Health and Environment Research Institute announced that since operating the "Sewage-Based Infectious Disease Surveillance Project" from January this year, it confirmed a strong correlation between the "virus concentration" and the "number of confirmed cases" in response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

According to the institute, the number of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the Ulsan area was 10,025 in the first week of January, continuously decreasing to 585 in the first week of April, then increasing to 2,763 in the fourth week of June.

The concentration of the COVID-19 virus in sewage was also recorded at 246.2 copies/㎕ in the first week of January, the highest concentration this year, dropped to 10.76 copies/㎕ in the first week of April, and then rose again to 173.3 copies/㎕ in the fourth week of June. "Copies" is a unit expressing the amount of virus.

Accordingly, the institute considers the "Sewage-Based Infectious Disease Surveillance Project" a scientific method to monitor infectious disease outbreaks in the Ulsan area in advance and plans to expand its application to other infectious diseases such as influenza.

The expanded surveillance targets include a total of 13 types of infectious diseases, including the existing COVID-19, △epidemic cold (influenza), △acute respiratory viruses (7 types), △waterborne and foodborne pathogens (3 types), and △antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Additionally, to strengthen human surveillance of respiratory viruses such as influenza, the institute plans to increase the number of sentinel surveillance institutions from the current 3 to 5 by adding 2 more hospitals or clinics in September.

An institute official stated, "The sewage surveillance target facilities in Ulsan City are four locations where sewage from Nam-gu, Jung-gu, Buk-gu, and Dong-gu districts flows in (Yongyeon, Gulhwa, Nongso, and Bangojin Water Quality Improvement Centers)," adding, "These facilities enable comprehensive infectious disease monitoring in the Ulsan area and will be actively utilized for proactive infectious disease response in the future."

Ulsan City Health and Environment Research Institute.

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