El Javea Town Hall Today, it has signed an agreement with GAMASER, Global Omnium Laboratory, to implement an epidemiological surveillance method in the municipality through the molecular analysis of wastewater that allows knowing the presence, concentration levels and evolution of SARS-CoV genomic units. -2 causing the COVID-19 disease.
For this, samples will be taken over the next 15 days at different significant points of the sewerage network, an analysis that will have zero cost for the City Council as a sample of the "Global Omnium's commitment to society and the challenge of stopping the consequences of this pandemic."
The laboratory will assume the costs associated with the project and will then share the results and make them available to the health authority whenever required.
Mayor, José Chulvi, He has shown his satisfaction that the steps taken have borne fruit and Xàbia has been one of the Valencian municipalities chosen for this scientific project that would allow anticipating and taking action in the event of a regrowth of the disease. "It is a tool that will radiograph the level of virus that exists and that in addition to giving security to the population will also allow us to present ourselves as a safe destination for those who want to visit us."
Chulvi has thanked Global Omnium "His collaboration with Xàbia and with the global fight against this pandemic that has changed our lives so much and covered the world with pain and uncertainty."
Pioneering method
SARS-GOAnalytics is a pioneering method-validated by IATA-CSIC (Superior Center for Scientific Research) - capable of quantitatively determining the number of genomic units of the virus that causes COVID-19 present per liter of water and, therefore, to establish the epidemic curve after sampling data and analysis.
Its methodology will allow some of the indicators to be used to be anticipated and the data to be crossed with others that Health collects to add information and take a more perfect picture of the progression or recession of the pandemic.
By taking samples and analyzing sewage water, a "Early Warning System with which we can sectorize and control at the level of detail indicated to us the emergence of new outbreaks of COVID in our cities in real time", they point out from Global Omnium.
As they have explained, the coronavirus leaves a genetic trace (RNA) that remains in the body of the infected for 20 days: "This RNA is expelled through feces and other secretion methods, reaching the sanitation networks from the first day of infection, even if the patient does not even have symptoms or knows that they are infected, that is, they are asymptomatic".
Therefore, thanks to the system developed by Gamaser (Global Omnium) and verified by the CSIC "We can monitor how the pandemic is behaving at a generic level - Edars entrances - where population areas dump, and what is especially relevant at the moment: we can sectorize and control at the level of small populations or even at the level of neighborhoods", has highlighted.
Experience in detecting infectious viruses in wastewater
Global Omnium has the capacity to carry out quantitative analyzes of SARS-CoV2 genetic material in the water of sanitation networks. Global Omnium laboratories have been collaborating with the Csic since October 2017, the year in which they signed an agreement for the detection of infectious viruses in wastewater under the program: "Detection of infectious viruses (NoV GI, NoV GII and HAV) in wastewater and regenerated ”.
Since then, the methodology to identify this type of pathogenic elements has been deepened. Since the pandemic broke out, its evolution has been monitored and the data has been adjusted as working material under the premise of collaborating in the investigations that were taking place. This method has been made available to the Generalitat Valenciana and was finalized yesterday with the signing of the protocol between the minister, the president of the Generalitat and the president of Global Omnium.
