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State survey shows genetic COVID-19 fragments in wastewater from Marshfield sewersheds

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Recent results from community sewershed surveillance in Marshfield are indicative of possible increases in COVID-19 transmission in the area. During the first week in April, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) saw elevated and increasing trends in concentrations of COVID-19 genetic fragments in wastewater from Marshfield (Webster County) sewersheds. 

“They did a survey in Marshfield and found high levels of what would be called traces of COVID-19,” explained Webster County Health Unit Administrator Scott Allen. “That’s not necessarily indicative of anything other than, sometimes where there’s smoke, there could be fire.”

Sewershed surveillance metrics are not a direct estimate of the COVID-19 positive human cases in the area. Rather, they provide an indication that COVID-19 transmission is likely increasing among the population in these sewershed areas.

“What they are concerned about is that there could be an asymptomatic outbreak of COVID-19 through that survey,” he added. “So it is a very useful tool to find out where the disease may be spreading around at.”

DHSS and the Webster County Health Unit encourage you to attend an upcoming free testing event, whether you are experiencing symptoms, or not.  Community testing events such as this can provide you helpful information to better protect yourself and your family.  It also provides extremely valuable information to public health officials for monitoring COVID-19 transmission in Missouri. 

“It’s important for us to understand what the disease is doing, where its going, and what we need to focus on as far as a treatment standpoint so that we don’t end up getting a big uptick in Webster County,” he added. “Anybody in the state is welcome to come, feeling well, not feeling well. But the folks that are asymptomatic we really want to tap into because if we find that 10 out of every 100 people who got tested come back with no symptoms is coming back positive as COVID-19… that is an issue for us in the community.”

Testing in Marshfield will be held on Wednesday, April 21, at the Webster County Fairgrounds (614 N. Marshall Street, Marshfield) 11a.m. – 7p.m. No registration is required.  For this event and other free community testing events in Missouri, visit health.mo.gov/communitytest or call 877-435-8411. Translation services are available.

“In some ways it kind of like giving blood, you never know what your are doing but you know you’re doing good. By having people tested it really helps us know what’s going on and if we have spreads or don’t have spreads throughout the Marshfield area,” he said. 

More information on COVID-19 can be found by going to http://webstercohealth.com/covid-19/, with information on vaccination available at https://covidvaccine.mo.gov/navigator/.

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