ImPaKT

Water detectives: Scientists test wastewater for signs of virus

Water detectives: Scientists test wastewater for signs of virus

For three weeks this summer, scientist Hector Rangel collected samples from wastewater in Caracas, Venezuela. His counterpart in Kampala, Uganda, Brian Lubega, took samples from a stream where open sewers drain into the watershed. These specimens were then processed and sent off to be analyzed at Western University’s Imaging Pathogens for Knowledge Translation (ImPaKT) facility. The goal is to better understand the prevalence of the coronavirus in these areas and get a picture of the variants that are circulating there.