Babbage: How snooping on sewage could save lives

Economist Podcasts

The Economist

News & Politics, News

4.4 • 4.9K Ratings

🗓️ 4 October 2022

⏱️ 44 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

During the pandemic, wastewater monitoring became a valuable tool in spotting covid-19 infection waves and the arrival of new variants. But sewage surveillance can help track the spread of all kinds of diseases—and measure a population’s consumption of everything from vegetables to cocaine. The Economist’s Gilead Amit examines how spying on sewage could offer health agencies an unprecedented insight into the lives of local populations, and considers the privacy concerns that could arise. Plus, we speak to the founder of a company that monitors wastewater to track the opioid crisis in America. Alok Jha hosts.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	London has made real progress in reducing new HIV diagnosis.
0:04.0	And that's because we know what works.
0:06.0	Be sure, know the four ways to prevent HIV.
0:09.0	One, test regularly and know your status.
0:12.0	Two, condoms can prevent HIV and other sexually transmitted infections.
0:16.0	Three, prep is a pill which can prevent HIV.
0:19.0	Four, undetectable.
0:21.0	Also known as U equals U.
0:23.0	Means people living with HIV on treatment cannot pass it on.
0:26.0	Be sure, know the four.
0:28.0	Visit duetlondon.org.
0:48.0	Bechton sewage treatment works sits at the far eastern edge of London.
0:53.0	Here, raw sewage from more than four million people is being treated.
0:59.0	Fiekelmatter, amongst many other contaminants, is removed,
1:04.0	leaving clean water to flow back into the river tens.
1:11.0	Sewage is coming underneath this here and then goes through these channels you can see over there.
1:15.0	You've got a little bit of weak stomach just to get it started.
1:19.0	Earlier this year, this sewage treatment facility was at the centre of a worrying public health story.
1:28.0	Polio has been detected in sewage samples collected from a treatment works in East London.
1:35.0	Traces of the polio virus were detected in London's sewage system,
1:40.0	prompting a warning from British authorities.
1:42.0	The virus has been detected in sewage in a number of London boroughs.
	...

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