The proverb one man’s trash is another man’s treasure probably didn’t have raw sewage in mind, but that effluent has provided a treasure trove of information for epidemiologists tracking the spread of the coronavirus.
That body of evidence convinced the Middlesex Jail and House of Corrections to become the first county correctional facility in the nation to partner with Cambridge-based Biobot Analytics, a startup founded by MIT graduates and faculty, to monitor and identify COVID’s presence in the facility’s wastewater.
“Throughout this pandemic, our decision-making has been medically driven and guided by the science,” Middlesex Sheriff Peter Koutoujian said.
“Partnering with Biobot — a national leader in wastewater epidemiology — enhances our ongoing efforts and will allow us to detect any re-emergence of COVID-19 inside our facility and act rapidly to mitigate it.”
With the availability of regular samples, Biobot has demonstrated the ability to analyze viruses, bacteria and small molecules excreted in human waste that collect in sewer systems across the nation.
The information gathered provides a health report card of those communities, including many in Massachusetts.
Last June, the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority approved a six-month, $200,000 contract with Biobot to collect and test samples of wastewater at Boston’s Deer Island Treatment Plant for signs of the coronavirus in member communities that at the time, accounted for 40% of the state’s cases.
Biobot President Newsha Ghaeli described the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office as pioneers for recognizing the value of wastewater epidemiology.
“As we move into the later stages of the pandemic, it’s even more important to have early warning methods to detect COVID-19 outbreaks,” Ghaeli said. “Equipped with better data, the Sheriff’s Office is well positioned to make better decisions, and we hope other counties across the country will follow in their footsteps.”
Samples will be collected weekly at the Billerica jail for six months through an automated sampler installed inside the facility, according to Koutoujian, with the results available in 48 to 72 hours.
As part of the testing, the Sheriff’s Office also has opted into Biobot’s variant detection program, which further examines samples for the presence of the variant first detected in the United Kingdom.
According to Koutoujian, the initial four weeks of sampling at the facility has reinforced the results of direct COVID-19 testing of inmates.
The two most recent samples analyzed by Biobot found no signs of the virus, in line with the negative test results of 54 inmates.
While COVID-19 remains the immediate focus, the Sheriff’s Office may extend its relationship with Biobot to conduct surveillance testing that Koutoujian said would “help maintain a healthy, safe environment for our staff and those in our custody.”
The jail’s future uses for the Biobot technology may include facility-level monitoring of subject areas ranging from opioids to infectious diseases and influenza.
Even though COVID-19 numbers have dropped dramatically throughout the commonwealth, that’s no reason to allow complacency to creep into our view of the virus’s continued pandemic potential.
Sewage sentinels of the type Biobot’s testing generate provide an advance warning system that more communities would be wise to employ.
The Middlesex House of Correction’s implementation of this technology shouldn’t be the exception to the rule, but rather a vital tool for early COVID-19 detection.
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Editorial: Coronavirus signs can flow through raw data - Boston Herald
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