ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10)—At the Wadsworth Center in Albany, wastewater samples from around the state are being tested for diseases.
“It’s a powerful tool,” explained Dr. Kirsten St. George, Chief of Viral Diseases at the Wadsworth Center.” It’s actually been in use around the world for decades for other purposes. Here in America, it came into high use during COVID to monitor COVID.”
In the years since the pandemic, wastewater surveillance at Wadsworth has expanded to test for other diseases such as polio and influenza. According to St. George, this surveillance can detect symptomatic and asymptomatic diseases circulating in communities before an outbreak starts…