Earlier this week Australian researchers announced that testing of aircraft and cruise ship wastewater upon arriving at their destination had detected genetic fragments of the COVID-19 virus, SARS-CoV-2.
Researchers from UQ’s Queensland Alliance for Environmental Health Sciences (QAEHS) and Australia’s national science agency CSIRO worked with transport companies to test on-board wastewater from lavatories.
This is a step forward in using this test as an additional public health management tool.
Media interest was understandably high, including from ABC Radio National’s PM program, Channel 10 news, Channel 9 travel news, Fairfax (Brisbane Times, The Age, and the Sydney Morning Herald), ABC regional radio, Bloomberg, IT Wire, Medical Xpress, radio Triple M news, and SBS German Radio.
Read the announcement and the research paper.
ABC Radio National PM
Professor Kevin Thomas, Director of QAEHS, Dr Kirsty Short from the UQ Faculty of Science, and Dr Paul Bertsch, Science Director of the CSIRO's Land and Water section spoke to Felicity Ogilvie on ABC Radio National PM.
Fairfax Media
Health, science and technology reporter for the Brisbane Times, Stuart Layt, interviewed researchers from QAEHS and CSIRO for this in-depth coverage that was syndicated across Fairfax Media, including the Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.
