Tracking COVID-19 and Variants in Wastewater w/ Professor Miguel Quiñones-Mateu: August 18, 2021

Professor Miguel Quiñones-Mateu, of the Department of Microbiology and Immunology, is part of an international team investigating how wastewater can be used to get a more accurate picture of COVID-19 cases in low-to-middle-income countries. 

Led by Otago and Western University, Canada, the project involves researchers in Uganda, Ghana, Colombia, Venezuela and Fiji. They are trying to gain an understanding of infection in the populations and look for emerging variants of concern.

Zazi asked Professor Quiñones-Mateu about the details behind the investigation: how it is conducted, why it is significant for low-to-middle-income countries, and whether there are benefits that go beyond COVID-19.