54 min
What's Poo Got To Do With It? COVID-19 Conversations : The Podcast Series
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- Science
In this episode of COVID-19 Conversations – The Podcast Series we talk to two of the scientists responsible for the exciting and innovative wastewater surveillance programme at the South African Medical Research Council’s Environment & Health Research Unit. Professor Angela Mathee (Director) and Sizwe Nkambule (Senior Scientist) are part of a daring team tracking SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) accross South Africa through... poo! They tell us about how the program was developed last year and walk us through their meticulous process, from sample collection to analysis and reporting. We are introduced to their one-of-a-kind public-facing SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance dashboard and discuss how local and national governments can use this amazing early warning system for planning purposes. We also touch on how this work can be scaled across the African continent, both for this pandemic as well as in the face of other health issues affecting our communities.
Further Reading:
How waste water is helping South Africa fight COVID-19 (Nature - May 24, 2021)
Wastewater surveillance for Covid-19: An African perspective (Science of the Total Environment - July 3, 2020)
Guests: Angela Mathee and Sizwe Nkambule
Producer and Host: Maaza Seyoum
Production Assistants: Luis Gonzalez Kompalic & Vivienne Naidoo
Editor: Luis Gonzalez Kompalic
Executive Producer: Tian Johnson
Queries: info@africanalliance.org.za
www.africanalliance.org.za
In this episode of COVID-19 Conversations – The Podcast Series we talk to two of the scientists responsible for the exciting and innovative wastewater surveillance programme at the South African Medical Research Council’s Environment & Health Research Unit. Professor Angela Mathee (Director) and Sizwe Nkambule (Senior Scientist) are part of a daring team tracking SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) accross South Africa through... poo! They tell us about how the program was developed last year and walk us through their meticulous process, from sample collection to analysis and reporting. We are introduced to their one-of-a-kind public-facing SARS-CoV-2 wastewater surveillance dashboard and discuss how local and national governments can use this amazing early warning system for planning purposes. We also touch on how this work can be scaled across the African continent, both for this pandemic as well as in the face of other health issues affecting our communities.
Further Reading:
How waste water is helping South Africa fight COVID-19 (Nature - May 24, 2021)
Wastewater surveillance for Covid-19: An African perspective (Science of the Total Environment - July 3, 2020)
Guests: Angela Mathee and Sizwe Nkambule
Producer and Host: Maaza Seyoum
Production Assistants: Luis Gonzalez Kompalic & Vivienne Naidoo
Editor: Luis Gonzalez Kompalic
Executive Producer: Tian Johnson
Queries: info@africanalliance.org.za
www.africanalliance.org.za
54 min