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28 May 2020 | Story Andre Damons | Photo Supplied
Dr Anthony Turton.

The major risk arising from COVID-19 is the fact that people can be infected but show no symptoms. It is these asymptomatic carriers that are the vectors accelerating infection in society. This is the central problem that has to date defied a solution.

Since the government cannot test every citizen in the country, the answer lies in sewage surveillance, says Dr Anthony Turton from the Centre for Environmental Management at the University of the Free State (UFS). 

Easier than testing millions of people
“We have 824 wastewater treatment works in South Africa. Each of these serves a population of known size. By taking samples of sewage according to a defined protocol, it is now technically possible to determine the viral load of the entire population in the catchment area of that sewage works. This data can be compared weekly, and from this we can determine if the total viral load is increasing or decreasing,” says Dr Turton.

According to him, this is much easier to do than the individual testing of millions of citizens, the results of which only give a snapshot of information relevant to those specific people at that precise moment in time. 
Dr Turton explains that the virus has a specific structure that gives it a number of properties. One of those properties is associated with the fatty outer coating, which is susceptible to detergents, ultraviolet light, and alcohol. This is known and forms part of the protocols to limit transmission. 

“What is known to scientists, but not yet apparent to the public, is that the virus is shed in human waste. This is known as viral shedding, and is now known to result in a traceable presence in both urine and faeces before a patient manifests with symptoms and after a patient has been treated. This does not mean that the virus is still infectious, although there is some mention of faecal-oral transmission in peer-reviewed literature, at least of the SARS virus.” 

"This is not yet fully understood, so the faecal-oral transmission pathway is mostly ignored by policy response, which is typically based on western premises such as a fully functional wastewater works. That may not be the case in developing countries, but the jury is still out on the faecal-oral transmission route,” explains Dr Turton.

What is of greater importance to society as a whole, Dr Turton continues, is the evolution of technology that is capable of detecting minute elements of the virus found in human waste. This is known in technical circles as sewage surveillance.
A person being tested has to go to a designated facility where they come into contact with other potential carriers; so even if they test negative today, this does not mean that they will not become infected on their way home.
“Such testing is costly, logistically complex, and is known to be out of reach even to advanced economies such as the USA, Britain, and Germany. But without testing, how can government still maintain its core mandate to protect citizens without destroying the economy by a perpetual lockdown?” 

“This is a dilemma that we need to confront, because the impact of economic meltdown can be bigger than the virus itself. The South African economy, which is already on its knees, cannot afford unemployment rates that might trigger social instability and unleash latent revolutionary zeal,” says Dr Turton.

A convenient way of gathering data
According to Dr Turton, samples are taken from the inlet to wastewater works where raw sewage is mixed. If more precise details are needed, sampling can occur on specific feeder lines, for example, from different suburbs representing different demographic samples of a larger and more complex whole. This ability gives sewage sampling a high level of nuance, because the pixel density of data built up over time is granular and precise. The important thing is that sampling must be regular and accurate, because each provides a single frame in the movie that we ultimately want our decision makers to watch. 

“Those samples are prepared in a specific way and sent to a laboratory capable of detecting precise elements of the RNA. Think of fingerprinting to understand this process. The Coronavirus has a precise fingerprint consisting of strands of carbon-based nucleotides arranged in a known sequence. It breaks down after the virus is destroyed but remains present like a bowl of minute pieces of spaghetti. Once detected and identified, it is then amplified or increased through a process known as PCR (polymerase chain reaction).” 

“In effect, this merely replicates what is originally present, like a photocopy machine. This is technically complex, and mistakes can be made each step of the way. However, if done properly, an accurate picture emerges. This picture is not about individuals who are positive or negative, but rather about the total viral load present in a defined cohort of people at a precise moment in time. It is not as granular as individual testing, but it is a convenient way of gathering data about the rate of change and specific epicentres of change or emerging hotspots.”

This technology has been successfully used in the Netherlands and is now being rolled out in other countries in the developed world. The right to use this technology has been secured for South Africa by the SA Business Water Chamber, a non-profit organisation, which entered into an agreement with KWR, the Dutch laboratory that has refined the technique. It is now being made available to any laboratory, privately owned, university owned or part of a national science council, with the intention of supporting decision-making by government. This will be of critical importance as the government decides to open up the economy, because sewage surveillance can detect a second wave before it is manifested as people reporting to doctors with symptoms.  

• The Business Water Council is a newly created structure for all entities involved in the business of water service provision, and is part of the Public Private Growth Initiative (PPGI) that aims to bring the private sector close to government in a collaborative effort to stimulate the economy and create jobs in a sustainable way. Funding entities have shown interest in supporting this process, given the strategic importance of sound decision-making for economic recovery after COVID-19 has passed. 

Any university with PCR capabilities can become a certified user of this technology, as can any commercial laboratory being rolled out as a humanitarian issue rather than a commercial one, even if it has an impact on the recovery of the economy.

News Archive

UFS announces the closure of Reitz Residence and the establishment of an institute for diversity
2008-05-27

Statement by Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Acting Rector of the UFS

The Executive Management of the University of the Free State (UFS) today announced a unanimous decision to close the Reitz Residence, effective at the end of the current university semester, and establish an institute for diversity on the same premises.

Four students from the Reitz Residence were responsible for making the now infamous Reitz video, depicting four female colleagues from the University and a worker of Prestige Cleaning Services who were lured into participating in a mock initiation ceremony during which they were humiliated and demeaned.

University management repeated its strong condemnation of the video, made in apparent protest against the University’s integration policy implemented at 21 residences accommodating some 3 400 students on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein.

The Reitz video reopened racial wounds, and is deeply regretted. It was an isolated manifestation of resistance to the impact of ongoing transformation initiatives at the University. The video and other acts of public violence and vandalism on the campus have undermined the efforts of the University to foster diversity in student and staff life and create an inclusive institutional culture on the campus.

The actions of a relatively small group of students also inflicted severe damage on the University’s reputation and standing in the local and international academic community. The UFS management had therefore decided that closure of the Reitz Residence was an unavoidable strategic imperative and an important gesture of reconciliation towards all South Africans who had been offended.

The University has apologised unreservedly for the video. Two of the students who were still residents in Reitz were barred from the campus and subsequently terminated their studies at the UFS, while the other two students had already completed their studies last year.

In an endeavour to make restitution and to offer a lasting contribution to transformation, both at the UFS and in the country as a whole, the UFS has committed itself to establishing an institute for diversity on the premises of the former Reitz Residence.

Reitz will therefore be closed as a residence from 20 June 2008. The UFS has appointed a fully representative special committee to assist current Reitz residents in finding alternative accommodation.

The Institute for Diversity is envisaged as a centre of academic excellence for studying transformation and diversity in society – a living laboratory for combating discrimination and enabling and enhancing reconciliation in societies grappling with the issues of racism, sexism and xenophobia.

The declaration of Higher Education South Africa (HESA) published on 28 March 2008 highlighted that racism, intolerance and discrimination are societal phenomena present on many campuses. However, these issues are not restricted to institutions of higher learning, and are symptomatic of a broader social malaise.

In responding to the challenge faced by the University regarding its own transformation issues, as well as those faced by the country, the UFS will study the anti-transformational impulses on the campus as a microcosm of much broader socio-political challenges. The University will transform itself over time into a beacon of hope, combating racism and other forms of discrimination in South Africa and elsewhere in the world.

The Institute for Diversity will add impetus to the University’s existing transformation programme. Six strategic clusters, including a transformation cluster, were created in 2007 as part of the University’s long-term strategic planning.

The University has already provided seed capital of R1 million to design and establish the Institute. Planning will take place during 2008/09, with the Institute being formally opened in the 2010 academic year. An international fund-raising drive to raise an initial target of R50 million will be launched shortly.

Note to editors: The Reitz video was apparently made late last year, but only entered the public domain on 26 February 2008.

Media Release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
27 May 2008


UFS e phatlalatsa ho kwalwa ha hostele ya Reitz le ho thehwa ha Institute for Diversity

Phatlalatso ka Prof. Teuns Verschoor, Morektoro ya tshwereng mokobobo wa UFS

Kajeno bolaodi ba Yunivesithi ya Freistata (UFS) bo phatlaladitse qeto e ananetsweng ke bohle ya ho kwalwa ha hostele ya Reitz mafelong a sehla sena sa pele sa dithuto (semester), le ho thehwa ha Institute for Diversity meahong eo ya Reitz.

Baithuti ba bane ba hostele ya Reitz ba ile ba eba le seabo kgatisong ya video e mpe moo basebetsi ba bane ba bomme ba yunivesithi le mosebetsi wa khamphane ya Prestige Cleaning Services ba ileng ba hohelwa ho ba le seabo mme ba tlontlollwa le ho nyenyefatswa hampe.

Bolaodi ba yunivesithi bo boetse ba nyatsa ka mantswe a bohale video eo e ileng ya hatiswa ka maikemisetso a ho ipelaetsa kgahlanong le leano la diphethoho dihosteleng tse 21 tsa yunivesithi Bloemfontein tseo e leng bodulo ho bathuti ba ka bang 3400.

Morektoro ya tshwereng mokobobo wa UFS, Prof. Teuns Verschoor, o boletse hore video eo ya Reitz e boetse e butse maqeba a semorabe mme e seollwa ka matla. O re e ne e le ketsahalo e ikgethileng ya boipelaetso kgahlanong le diteko tse tswelang pele tsa ho tlisa diphethoho yunivesithing. O re video eo le diketsahalo tse ding tsa merusu le tshenyo ya thepa khamphaseng di setisitse diteko tsa yunivesithi tsa ho tlisa poelano hara baithuti le basebetsi, le ho theha moetlo o akaretsang ka hare ho yunivesithi.

O tswetse pele ka hore diketso tseo tsa sehlotshwana sa baithuti di boetse tsa senya yunivesithi serithi le lebitso mona hae le dinaheng tse ding. Kahoo bolaodi ba UFS bo nkile qeto yah ore ho kwalwa ha hostele ya Reitz ke ntho o kekeng ya qojwa mme e boetse ke mohato wa bohlokwa wa poelano ho ma-Afrika Borwa ohle a anngweng ke taba ena.

Yunivesithi e kopile tshwarelo mabapi le video ena. Ba babedi ba baithuti ba amehang kgatisong ya video eo, ba neng ba ntse ba dula hosteleng ya Reitz, ba ile ba thibelwa ho kena khamphaseng mme yaba ba tlohela dithuto tsa bona, ha ba bang ba babedi bona ba ne ba se ba phethetse dithuto tsa bona selemong se fetileng.

Prof. Verschoor o boletse hore ho leka ho kgutlisetsa maemo setlwaeding le ho tshehetsa leano la diphethoho UFS le naheng ka bophara, UFS e ikanne ho theha Institute for Diversity hona meahong eo ya Reitz.

Kahoo hostele ya Reitz e tla kwalwa ho tloha ka la 20 Phupjane 2008. UFS e thontse komiti e ikgethang e akaretsang bohle ho thusa baithuti ba dulang hosteleng ena hajwale ho fumana bodulo bo bong.

Institute for Diversity e tla ba setsha se kgabane sa dithuto tsa diphethoho le poelano setjhabeng – setsha se tla lwantshana le kgethollo mme se kgothalletse le ho matlafatsa poelano hara batho ba tobaneng le mathata a kgethollo ya mmala, ya bong le lehloyo la melata.

Tokomane ya Higher Education South Africa (HESA) e phatlaladitsweng ka la 28 Hlakubele 2008, e pepesa dintlha tse amanang le kgethollo ya mmala, tlhokeho ya mamellano le kgethollo ka kakaretso e le dintho tse teng dikhamphaseng tse ngata. Dintlha tsena ha di teng feela ditsheng tsa thuto e phahameng, empa le setjhabeng ka kakaretso.

Prof. Vershoor o boletse hore UFS e tla lekola dikgato tse kgahlanong le diphethoho ka hare ho khamphase jwaloka karolo ya diphepetso tse nammeng hara setjhaba ka kakaretso. O re yunivesithi e tla fetoha ha nako e ntse e tsamaya ho ba mohlala o motle wa tshepo, twantsho ya kgethollo ya mmala le mekgwa e meng ya kgethollo Afrika Borwa le lefatsheng ka bophara.

Institute for Diversity e tla thusa ho matlafatsa lenaneo la jwale la diphethoho la yunivesithi. Ho thehilwe di Strategic Clusters tse tsheletseng selemong se fetileng, tse kenyeletsang Transformation Cluster, jwaloka karolo ya merero ya UFS.

Yunivesithi e se e nyehelane ka tjhelete e kana ka diranta tse milione ho rala le ho theha institute ena. Ho rerwa ha yona ho tla etswa ka 2008/09, mme institute ena e tla bulwa semmuso selemong sa dithuto sa 2010. Haufinyana ho tla thakgolwa letsholo la matjhaba la ho bokeletsa tjhelete e kana ka diranta tse dimilione tse mashome a mahlano.


Tlhokomediso ho bahlophisi ba ditaba: Video ya Reitza e hatisitswe selemong se fetileng mme ya hlahella pepeneng ka la 26 Hlakola 2008.

Phatlalatso ya boraditaba
E entswe ke: Lacea Loader
Motlatsa molaodi: Dikgokahano
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl.stg@ufs.ac.za  
27 Motsheanong 2008








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