Sewage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight

[Mattg]

I've been listening to the ABC's coronacast podcast almost every day since it started, and have found it to be an interesting and reliable source of COVID-19 information and advice.

On today's episode they had a guest, Paul Birch from the CSIRO, talking about sewerage testing as a way to detect COVID-19 in the community, which is something some states are now doing with reasonable success.

Towards the end of the interview, Dr Birch mentioned that scientists had taken a sample of the aircraft's waste water at the end of QF112, the recent Qantas repatriation flight from Delhi to Darwin. All the passengers on board had tested negative for COVID-19 three days before the flight, but despite this they picked up fragmants of the virus in the plane's sewerage - indicating that at least 1 passenger likely had COVID-19. Sure enough, all of the passengers were tested again on the first day of quarantine and 5 tested positive.

I just thought it was interesting how they were able to pick this up before even testing the passengers.

Here's the episode - Everything you've wanted to know about sewage testing

 

[dajop]

Did all passengers test negative in the three days before the flight, or did all show documentation that they tested negative? There might be a difference.

But that aside it is entirely plausible that they could contract the virus in the intervening period, or the infection could reach detectable levels during that period.

 

[drron]

Quite a few reports of people buying false documentation of a negative Covid test.

A Viral Tweet Has Revealed How You Can Buy False Negative Covid Test Results In America

A woman in Miami, Florida has gone viral after exposing the illegal market of false negative Covid testing in the US. Find out more on Grazia.

graziadaily.co.uk

 

[jb747]

Did all passengers test negative in the three days before the flight, or did all show documentation that they tested negative? There might be a difference.

Given that a large percentage of the pilots from that part of the world have falsified flying licences, I'd not be surprised at all. My wife used to work for a university that had lots of foreign students, and it was common to find false education certificates, etc.

 

[dk4]

Did all passengers test negative in the three days before the flight, or did all show documentation that they tested negative? There might be a difference.

But that aside it is entirely plausible that they could contract the virus in the intervening period, or the infection could reach detectable levels during that period.

While not discounting what seem to be plausible reports of fraudulent pre-flight tests "being a thing". There is a history of a few people in hotel quarantine in NSW only testing positive at day 11, so as you point out, viral load does seem to take some time to develop to a detectable level in some people.

For the above reason, pre-flight testing is not an acceptable solution to suppressing the spread of this virus. In my opinion it creates a complacent level of false security, which will in fact help the virus disperse, not hinder it.

 

[Pushka]

While not discounting what seem to be plausible reports of fraudulent pre-flight tests "being a thing". There is a history of a few people in hotel quarantine in NSW only testing positive at day 11, so as you point out, viral load does seem to take some time to develop to a detectable level in some people.

For the above reason, pre-flight testing is not an acceptable solution to suppressing the spread of this virus. In my opinion it creates a complacent level of false security, which will in fact help the virus disperse, not hinder it.

All of SA positives in around 3 months have been from international passengers in quarantine, or from Victoria in quarantine (just 1) as are all of our current active cases.

 

[dk4]

A real time case study into the pointlessness of pre-event testing is playing out on "The Points Guy" website right now!

They sent a blogger to cover the resumption of cruising in the Caribbean, on the first ship to set sail...

Surprisingly normal: What it's like on board the first Caribbean cruise since March - The Points Guy

TPG's cruise writer, Gene Sloan, offers a firsthand look at the experience on board the first cruise ship to restart operations in the Caribbean, SeaDream Yacht Club's SeaDream 1.

thepointsguy.com

Everyone was tested 3 days before cruise, tested again on embarkation, and testing a few days into the cruise, and...

The first cruise ship to resume sailing in the Caribbean is having a COVID scare - The Points Guy

A passenger on SeaDream Yacht Club's SeaDream 1 has tested positive for COVID on a preliminary basis.

thepointsguy.com

And just a few days later, within this closed and pre-tested environment, a passenger gets a positive test result. And the next day, more negatives turn positive...

Day 2: I’m stuck on a cruise ship lockdown due to COVID - The Points Guy

With a return to Caribbean cruising, a passenger on this ship tested positive for COVID and sent the entire ship into lockdown. Here's what's happening now.

thepointsguy.com

 

[HappyFlyerFamily]

A real time case study into the pointlessness of pre-event testing is playing out on "The Points Guy" website right now!

They sent a blogger to cover the resumption of cruising in the Caribbean, on the first ship to set sail...

Surprisingly normal: What it's like on board the first Caribbean cruise since March - The Points Guy

TPG's cruise writer, Gene Sloan, offers a firsthand look at the experience on board the first cruise ship to restart operations in the Caribbean, SeaDream Yacht Club's SeaDream 1.

thepointsguy.com

Everyone was tested 3 days before cruise, tested again on embarkation, and testing a few days into the cruise, and...

The first cruise ship to resume sailing in the Caribbean is having a COVID scare - The Points Guy

A passenger on SeaDream Yacht Club's SeaDream 1 has tested positive for COVID on a preliminary basis.

thepointsguy.com

And just a few days later, within this closed and pre-tested environment, a passenger gets a positive test result. And the next day, more negatives turn positive...

Day 2: I’m stuck on a cruise ship lockdown due to COVID - The Points Guy

With a return to Caribbean cruising, a passenger on this ship tested positive for COVID and sent the entire ship into lockdown. Here's what's happening now.

thepointsguy.com

The traveller’s page of updates

Gene Sloan - The Points Guy

As Cruise Team Lead, Gene Sloan oversees cruise content at TPG and also writes many of TPG's main cruise guides. He has spent nearly 30 years writing about cruise ships and cruising, and he is one of the world's best-known authorities on the topic.

thepointsguy.com

 

[Pushka]

I love cruising but right now it ranks on a par with a dental root canal for fun.

 

[DC3]

Oh, yes. The excitement of buying tickets for a COVID cruise. Bets being taken on who will succumb first.

The trip of your (only) lifetime.

 

[DC3]

I love cruising but right now it ranks on a par with a dental root canal for fun.

So, it rates that high up the list?

 

[DC3]

A technicality regarding the thread title: Sewerage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight

Sewerage, or the sewers, refers to the structure in which waste (including sewage) flows through pipes and drains to a treatment plant.

Sewage is the human waste that flows into the sewers and usually ends up at sewage treatment works.

So, sewage refers to the waste that is discharged, whereas sewerage/sewers are the structure that the discharge goes through. They are different things and the terms are not interchangeable.

It’s not the sewerage system that is being tested, but the waste product that flows through the sewerage. i.e., the sewage is being tested.

More correctly: Sewage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight.

Edit: Probably due to spellcheck.

 

[cambriamarsh]

A technicality regarding the thread title: Sewerage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight

Sewerage, or the sewers, refers to the structure in which waste (including sewage) flows through pipes and drains to a treatment plant.

Sewage is the human waste that flows into the sewers and usually ends up at sewage treatment works.

So, sewage refers to the waste that is discharged, whereas sewerage/sewers are the structure that the discharge goes through. They are different things and the terms are not interchangeable.

It’s not the sewerage system that is being tested, but the waste product that flows through the sewerage. i e., the sewage is being tested.

More correctly: Sewage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight.

Edit: Probably due to spellcheck.

Copy to grammar thread?

 

[trippin_the_rift]

When Governments are pouring cash into anything with a 'Covid' stamp on it - there's bound to be these opportunistic studies.

I'm sure we'll see a startup do 'mass air testing' in cities, or a car manufacturer do in car air testing or heck, maybe even masks that change colour if it detects certain viruses.

Anything to make a buck

 

[k_sheep]

Did all passengers test negative in the three days before the flight, or did all show documentation that they tested negative? There might be a difference.

We have received NUMEROUS swabs for testing in our lab that are unopened - they haven't even bothered taking the lid off the swab to break the perforations in the label.

In addition, I can guarantee with more than 99% certainly some of those 'collections' where the swab is lightly wafted on the outer nostrils will also be negative.

So..... yeah, a negative result doesn't exactly mean a lot, if all the other pre-analytical steps aren't done correctly.

 

[Mattg]

A technicality regarding the thread title: Sewerage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight

Sewerage, or the sewers, refers to the structure in which waste (including sewage) flows through pipes and drains to a treatment plant.

Sewage is the human waste that flows into the sewers and usually ends up at sewage treatment works.

So, sewage refers to the waste that is discharged, whereas sewerage/sewers are the structure that the discharge goes through. They are different things and the terms are not interchangeable.

It’s not the sewerage system that is being tested, but the waste product that flows through the sewerage. i.e., the sewage is being tested.

More correctly: Sewage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight.

Edit: Probably due to spellcheck.

Good pickup. I've fixed that for you.

 

[RAM]

Oh, yes. The excitement of buying tickets for a COVID cruise. Bets being taken on who will succumb first.

The trip of your (only) lifetime.

Wow!

Brings a whole new meaning to going in a Calcutta!

 

[cqtiger]

So many sewage cases in Qld towns before the election and never a case found.Another false positive to keep us in a state of fear.

 

[sammy]

So many sewage cases in Qld towns before the election and never a case found.Another false positive to keep us in a state of fear.

Or in a state of denial.

 

[cqtiger]

Or in a state of denial.

If you lived through the testing debacle in central queensland it's definitely a state of fear