Houston, Texas Tracks COVID-19 Spread Through Poop

Houston, Texas is tracking the spread of coronavirus through wastewater. Numerous studies have suggested that traces of the coronavirus can be found in human feces.

Tracking COVID-19 through poop

Houston health officials teamed up with scientists at Rice University to test the wastewater in the city since clinical testing is still lacking, officials wanted to find a way to help stop the spread of the virus in the city. Health officials and scientists are hoping to find COVID-19 hot spots within the city and get a clearer map of how many people have been infected and in which area.

The federal government might follow the lead of Houston's health officials, according to Politico. It has been doing its own ways of responding to the pandemic, but coronavirus testing remains limited across the country. This is the reason why they may soon be using wastewater to trace the spread of the virus.

However, health officials warned that this unconventional method is still a work in progress. According to Dr. David Persse, using wastewater to trace the virus in the city is something that no one has ever done before.

Health experts have never really tracked an illness across a massive community like the fourth-largest city in the nation using only testing of individuals but at the same time, testing the wastewater.

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Public works employees will be collecting wastewater samples during a single 24-hour period every week. There are 39 water treatment plants in the city, but only 33 have the necessary equipment to participate in the bold new experiment. In Harris County, Houston, 122 people have died from coronavirus, according to the data compiled by Johns Hopkins.

Cases jump as state reopens

On April 29, Texas reported 50 coronavirus deaths. It is the most Texans to die in one day since the first confirmed coronavirus death in mid-March. It is part of the deadliest three-day stretch that Texas has counted yet, with a combined death toll of 119, according to the Associated Press.

Another 1,033 new coronavirus cases were confirmed on April 29, which is the largest daily count in Texas since April 10, and the third-highest daily total overall. The governor of Texas, Gov. Greg Abbott, defended his decision to allow businesses to reopen. He said that the state's infection rate and hospitalization rate have shown downward trends since a peak during the first two weeks of April.

However, Catherine Troisi, an epidemiologist at the University of Texas, said that the state has not tested for coronavirus widely enough to be confident about reopening businesses. The recorded infection rate is also not accurate as more tests need to be done.

Texas has performed 330,300 coronavirus tests so far, with a population of 30 million, it is one of the states with the fewer tests per capita. Gov. Abbott said that he is aiming to get Texas to a point of performing at least 25,000 tests every day.

On May 1, businesses like restaurants, retail shops, malls, and cinemas were reopened at 25% occupancy. There were guidelines added but a lot of businesses have announced that they are opting out and will remain closed. Restaurants will offer takeout and delivery services only.