N.B. expands COVID-19 wastewater monitoring and uses – CBC
Samples could be used to test for the flu, RSV and other infectious diseases
May 22, 2024
New Brunswick has expanded its COVID-19 wastewater monitoring system network and is expanding its uses to include other infectious diseases, such as the flu and RSV.
New surveillance sites have been added in Sackville and St. Stephen, along with a second site in Saint John, said Sean Hatchard, spokesperson for the Department of Health.
The sites have started operating and their data will soon be uploaded to the national COVID-19 wastewater monitoring dashboard, he said.
“Before data from a new wastewater surveillance site is added to [the Public Health Agency of Canada’s] wastewater surveillance dashboard, a minimum of six weeks’ worth of data must be collected and analyzed to ensure for calibration and quality control,” Hatchard said in an emailed statement.
Shippagan is also expected to be added to the network. “The timeline is still being evaluated,” according to a spokesperson for Vitalité Health Network, which operates the New Brunswick Public Health lab that analyzes samples at the Dr. Georges-L.-Dumont University Hospital Centre in Moncton.
