Image:Shutterstock // Aleksandar Malivuk

Our Sewerage system is an important (albeit unsavoury) defence in the tacking of Covid-19.

Testing sewerage systems for viral fragments of the Covid-19 virus is an early warning sign of where an outbreak the virus is headed next.

Fragments recently found in the wastewater of far west NSW towns of Broken Hill and Bourke gave authorities a crucial warning sign to prepare their response to the delta variant in the community.

Tahlia Kraefft spoke with Science Director at CSIRO Land and Water, Dr Paul Bertsch about how this unlikely surveillance system operates.

Produced By: Tahlia Kraefft

Featured In Story: Dr Paul Bertsch, Science Director at CSIRO Land and Water.

First aired on The Wire, Wednesday 18 August 2021