As the omicron variant continues to spread, health officials in Michigan are using a new tool to test wastewater for signs of the coronavirus.
The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services conducts weekly tests at more than 400 wastewater sites across the state.
The Sentinel Wastewater Epidemiology Evaluation Project, or “SWEEP,” is meant to provide timely data about where COVID-19 is being detected, so local officials can take action in their communities.
Dr. Alexis Travis is the senior deputy director of Michigan’s Public Health Administration.
She says the system may help break the cycle of transmission.
“So, it’s very important as clinical testing rates are decreasing, that we add to our toolbox and we have other ways of noticing when COVID is present in communities,” Travis said.
Travis says this monitoring method is non-invasive and protects individual privacy because it yields information about large populations.
She says a pilot program conducted in 2020 has yielded good results.
“Early successes show this has led to increased virus protection,” said Travis. “We’ve also seen increased partnership and improved communications at the local level, and then investment in infrastructure and capacity building.”
The SWEEP project is currently funded through 2023.
Travis says it might one day be expanded to track other diseases.
