OKLAHOMA CITY – Researchers from the University of Oklahoma and OU Health have detected a major increase of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage samples collected in the state’s metropolitan areas, which predicted the current surge in COVID-19 cases across the city and the state as a whole.

Over the last two weeks of August, the concentrations of SARS-CoV-2 in the different samples from wastewater-treatment plants have been anywhere from 33 to 67 times higher than in May.

“The increasing levels of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater over the past month are yet another indicator that new infections are occurring rapidly throughout the state. We haven’t seen concentration levels like these since just before our winter case surge,” said Halley Reeves of Community and Rural Health Impact for OU Health.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, many people infected with COVID-19 shed the virus in their waste before developing symptoms. OU, OU Health and others have been continually monitoring sewage as a means of predicting potential surges. “We use the same technology to detect the SARS-CoV-2 virus that is used in the individual PCR tests. The concentration of virus per liter is directly related to the number of individuals with COVID-19 in the sewershed,” said Dr. Bradley Stevenson, Associate Professor of Microbiology at OU.

“Analyzing wastewater helps to predict surges about a week before we see case counts increase. High concentrations suggest that community transmission of SARS-CoV-2 occurs at high levels and almost certainly among some of the vulnerable populations that our surveillance covers,” said Katrin Kuhn, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the Hudson College of Public Health

“This data has been an incredible tool as we continue to help fight the ongoing pandemic,” Phil Maytubby, OCCHD chief operating officer said.

“Data has been crucial in our response and this predictive methodology has enhanced our planning effort. As the research has continued and specific mutations have been detected that are found in the genome of the Delta variant, OCCHD has used this data to better assess our operation.”