South Africa: Sewage surveillance – flushing out a new laboratory

Much can be discerned from a population’s wastewater. Specialising in this domain is South African company, Waterlab, which embarked on the Eureka project WASTEWATER4COVID with partners KWR Water Research Institute and Royal Haskoning in the Netherlands to advance wastewater surveillance methods to detect SARS-CoV-2.

There are likely few places in the world where COVID-19 was greeted with more delight and excitement than in Waterlab’s laboratory. Whilst many reached for masks and hand sanitiser, the Waterlab team were ecstatic when they successfully detected the virus in local river and wastewater samples.

Eureka has provided a valuable opportunity for us to collaborate with international partners on the development of innovative products, such as a gut-brain axis model and prebiotics. We also appreciate the straightforward application process and minimal administrative burden.

Gatis Mozolevskis – co-founder and Chief Executive Officer

This breakthrough followed months of research into samples from both sewered and non-sewered communities in South Africa and the Netherlands. Recognising the unique South African context, where many people live in impermanent structures and cannot afford clinical polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing, the project partners innovated with passive sampling methods and equipment tailored to local conditions. To process these samples, they developed advanced epidemiology methods, including sensitive molecular detection using digital PCR, novel sampling techniques and data analysis and visualisation tools.

Waterlab soon adapted these sampling, recovery and extraction techniques to detect other ubiquitous pathogens, such as Norovirus and Hepatitis E virus. The newly acquired digital PCR can also detect additional waterborne pathogens including Legionella, Cryptosporidium and Giardia. This approach has filled critical gaps in traditional clinical testing, resulting in far-reaching impact in South Africa; infection trends can be identified across diverse communities, advancing public health monitoring and outbreak response.

Waterlab credits Eureka with facilitating its access to vital funding from South Africa’s Department of Science and Innovation (DSI), as well as enabling new partnerships and knowledge exchange with experienced scientists in its field, such as the team at the KWR Water Research Institute. Leanne Zdyb Coetzee, Specialist Consultant at Waterlab, explains, “Our partners provided inspiration in all that wastewater surveillance has to offer. This project has opened doors for Waterlab, enriching our technical expertise and forming networks for future research.”

Following the WASTEWATER4COVID project, Waterlab established a fully equipped molecular laboratory, resulting in the full-time permanent employment of a local graduate. The South African company has also launched multiple new wastewater surveillance projects with reputable collaborators.

The innovation stemming from WASTEWATER4COVID is enhancing South Africa’s ability to monitor and respond swiftly to pathogen outbreaks. This can only be of benefit in a country where water and sanitation infrastructure are under strain from a growing population, lack of sanitation, poverty and limited funding.