OSHKOSH (NBC 26) — Wisconsin health officials have released a new tool to monitor wastewater for COVID-19 in the state.
The state Department of Health Services announced this week a new online dashboard that displays findings from the wastewater surveillance program of the SARS-CoV-2 virus in Wisconsin.
SARS-CoV-2 is the virus that causes COVID-19 and is found in the feces of infected people, the Wisconsin DHS says. DHS also says monitoring wastewater can help officials detect COVID-19 activity in communities as early as a week before clinical testing.
Some health officials are already using the new dashboard. Winnebago County Public Health Department said in a recent update that the dashboard indicates the SARS-CoV-2 concentration is increasing and the case trajectory is growing within the the Oshkosh Wastewater Treatment Plant.
To see the dashboard, click here.