Praecautio partners with a formidable South African team to launch a Virus Risk Forensic Service in support of the COVID-19 surveillance program

A mere nine weeks ago, Neil Madgwick, founder and owner of Praecautio, began to collaborate with a highly professional team, from all over South Africa, consisting of Prof. Turton of UFS, Dr Mpafani Deyi and Dr. Leon Geustyn of Amanzi 4 All, Kevin Linsay of Instru-Serve, and Dr. Shaun Groenink and Dr. Cara-Lesley Bartlett of Green Hill Laboratories regarding the implementation of testing for COVID-19 in wastewater. This led to the formation of the Virus Risk Forensic Service.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has grown across the globe, it has quickly become evident that, as important as individual testing is, it can quickly become extremely costly. It is therefore impossible to test whole communities on a regular enough basis to preempt any future outbreak in a particular sector, community or area. This poses significant risk to individuals, the economy, and to political leadership facing a public backlash. As disturbing as this is, COVID-19 has provided us with a trace element – it’s RNA. This is readily available, in every infected community around the globe, in wastewater. Research has shown that COVID-19 is shed in human feces, even in those who are asymptomatic, and this gives rise to the forensic opportunity. Based on the findings of this research, the Water Research Commission (WRC) recently called for a COVID-19 surveillance program.

In support of this call, the intention of the Virus Risk Forensic Service is to assist executives to become pro-active in the COVID-19 fight. Praecautio has played a central role in connecting the various stakeholders and players in this groundbreaking work. Praecautio specialise in scientific consulting and science based solutions with Mr. Madgwick at the helm, A pilot study, conducted by the Virus Risk Forensic Service team, in June, proved waste water plants could be sampled for COVID- 19 RNA. Furthermore it became evident that while other laboratories were active in the field, nowhere is there a single solution that includes sampling and the analysis of data trends coming out of the laboratory.

With 22 years experience in the South African laboratory community, managing, setting up and consulting with regards to laboratory accreditation, Mr. Madgwick was able to quickly identify Green Hill Laboratories, as a state of the art molecular laboratory, to partner in the testing of wastewater for COVID-19.

Mr Madgwick explains that the uniqueness of the service that the virus risk forensic service is offering is that they have within their hands a full system to offer communities. A service that provides the client with exceptional sampling methods that would provide the laboratory with a sample that is statistically representative of a defined community. The team ensures all logistics are covered so that the sample is efficiently and professionally dealt with. Once at the laboratory samples are treated with professionalism consistent with any forensic service. Virus Risk Forensic Service, aims to have results available within 24 to 48 hours of samples arriving in the lab. These results can then be extrapolated to the population served by the waste water treatment works.

When asked about the cost of this sample of result service Mr Madgwick emphasises that one of these tests – that are able to screen whole communities at once are equivalent to the cost of between 15 and 20 individuals.

Today this team, Virus-Risk Forensic Services, is able to offer government departments and the private sector an efficient, full package COVID-19 testing service for waste water. The service is forensically secure from sampling right through the logistics to laboratory testing – and the results are available in a short time to allow timeous reaction to a potential COVID-19 outbreak. By conducting these tests regularly, schools, mines, gated-estates and business parks and prisons could detect a COVID-19 outbreak before anyone is showing any symptoms. This allows the creation of safe spaces where preventative measures have been put into place, targeted individual testing and isolation to take place and for medical services to be deployed if necessary.

Throughout this process Praecautio has ensured that the correct scientific and sampling procedures were followed. Furthermore, by bridging the gap between Instru-Serve sampling, scientific entities such as Greenhill laboratories, and those, such as Amanzi 4 All , responsible for liaising with authorities on this matter, Mr. Madgwick is able to manage the processes to ensure the realization of this momentous and comprehensive service to South Africa and beyond. Praecautio has played a pivotal role in coordinating the initial project and will remain the first point of contact for this project going forward.

This specialised service that sees this testing of wastewater from sampling to result offered by this amazing team of professionals gives us a solid battle plan in preempting COVID-19’s next move and so giving us the upper hand to win this battle against this invisible foe.

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