Researchers want to expand wastewater surveillance

Why it matters: Wastewater can be an early indicator of how a disease is spreading or abating in a community. Aggregate data across the U.S. could help predict the next surge of COVID-19.

• More than 700 sites in the U.S. report data to the National Wastewater Surveillance System, Axios' Tina Reed and Kavya Beheraj report.
• But data are scant in some locations, including Arkansas where only Mississippi County reports to the agency. Just one other site in the state — Redfield in central Arkansas — tests wastewater for the virus.

The intrigue: One of the U of A scientists analyzed wastewater samples from sites in Northwest and central Arkansas in 2020.

• The samples showed the virus increased in wastewater three to five days before an uptick in community cases was reported.

What we're watching: If the team receives the grant, participating researchers plan to expand the number of sites in the state that test for COVID and track variants of the virus.