Such a practice would be a better way to track the virus and slow its entry into the United States than new travel restrictions announced this week by several countries (including the United States) that require negative coronavirus tests for travelers from China — three infectious disease experts told Reuters.
Travel restrictions, for example Mandatory testing has so far failed to significantly reduce the spread of the virus and is largely for visual purposes – said Dr. Michael Osterholm, an infectious disease expert at the University of Minnesota.
(Restraints) seem politically necessary. I think all governments fear being accused of not doing enough to protect their citizens if they don’t take these steps
– Tell.
The United States extended this week Genome sequencing program at airports, including Seattle and Los Angeles, which has increased the number of airports collecting information from positive tests to seven. However, according to experts, this may not represent a large enough sample.
It will be a better solution Sewage check of airlinesThis will give a clearer picture of how the virus has mutated, said genome expert Dr. Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in La Jolla, California, since China does not release the data transparently.
According to David Dowdy, an epidemiologist who deals with infectious diseases at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, it is also important to monitor the evolution of genetic material, and in this regard, wastewater sampling can be very useful, but Tests take time.
I think we need to be careful about how much we expect this data to actually help our ability to respond.
– Tell.
Cover image: Getty Images
