Sewage taken from yesterday’s direct flight between Beijing and Brussels shows signs of corona infections but following the first lab results the experts say the water contains less virus than expected. There are fears the first sample wasn’t really representative for the people on board the flight. It’s hoped better samples will be provided soon.
For the first time scientists at the Rega Institute in Leuven tested sewage from a direct flight from China yesterday. Belgium is eager to keep tabs on the situation as China eases restrictions on foreign travel. The relaxation comes as Covid infections are believed to be soaring in the People’s Republic.
The Belgian authorities are keen to monitor the scale of the outbreak in China and identify any new variants.
Elke Wollants of the Rega Institute told VRT the sample of sewage from loos on board the Hainan Airlines flight contained low concentrations of coronavirus. It will be difficult to identify variants, but we will try”.
There are doubts about how representative the sample is.
“We expected a sample with more stool, but we got waste water. It’s quite possible that in actual fact virus concentrations are higher” says Wollants.
The researchers hope to receive better samples this week. First results of attempts to identify variants should be available soon.
High infection levels increase the chance of new variants developing. There is little concern about the circulation of existing variants given vaccination and natural immunity among the Belgian population at large even though the virus is now endemic.
The Belgian foreign ministry is advising against non-essential travel to the People’s Republic.