科学家们正在开发一种检测方法，以便在废水中发现新的冠状病毒

科学家们正在开发一种检测方法，以便在废水中发现新的冠状病毒

The battle with the new coronavirus has been well and truly engaged across the world, and one of the fronts we're fighting on is trying to scale up testing measures so scientists can see where COVID-19 is spreading the most.

与这种新型冠状病毒的战斗已经在全世界范围内展开，我们正在与之战斗的前线之一是努力扩大检测手段，以便科学家们能够看到COVID-19在哪些地方传播得最广。

Large-scale data can be hugely helpful in tracking and controlling the spread of the disease, which doesn't always reveal itself through noticeable symptoms. In a new opinion piece submitted to Environmental Science & Technology, one team of researchers is now proposing a potential testing mechanism that promises to be fast, affordable, and accurate: it uses a paper-based device to detect the presence of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater.

大规模的数据可以极大地帮助跟踪和控制疾病的传播，但疾病并不总是通过明显的症状表现出来。在一篇提交给《环境科学与技术》(Environmental Science & Technology)的新观点文章中，一组研究人员现在提出了一种潜在的测试机制，有望实现快速、经济和准确的检测:它使用一种基于纸张的设备来检测废水中是否存在SARS-CoV-2。

We have already developed a paper device for testing genetic material in wastewater for proof-of-concept, and this provides clear potential to test for infection with adaption, says biomedical engineer Zhugen Yang, from Cranfield University in the UK.

来自英国克兰菲尔德大学的生物医学工程师Zhugen Yang说:“我们已经开发了一种纸上设备，用于测试废水中的遗传物质，以证明概念，这为测试适应性感染提供了明显的潜力。”

This device is cheap, costing less than £1 [US$1.24], and will be easy to use for non-experts after further improvement. We foresee that the device will be able to offer a complete and immediate picture of population health once this sensor can be deployed.

“这种设备很便宜，成本不到1英镑(1.24美元)，而且在进一步改进后，对于非专业人士来说也很容易使用。我们预计，一旦该传感器投入使用，该设备将能够提供一幅完整、即时的人群健康画面。”

This research is part of an emerging field called wastewater-based epidemiology, or WBE. While it has its limitations, including difficulties in extrapolating results to a wider sample, it has a lot of advantages too – it's non-invasive, it gathers data in close to real time, and it's generally accurate.

这项研究属于一个新兴领域——基于废水的流行病学，简称WBE。虽然它有其局限性，包括很难将结果外推到更大的样本上，但它也有很多优点——它是非侵入性的，它收集的数据接近实时，而且通常是准确的。

The device Yang and his colleagues are proposing would be folded and unfolded in steps in order to filter nucleic acids of pathogens from the wastewater. Chemicals already added to the paper would then detect whether the nucleic acid of SARS-CoV-2 was present.

杨和他的同事们提出的设备将被折叠和展开，以过滤废水中病原体的核酸。已经添加到纸上的化学物质将检测出是否存在SARS-CoV-2的核酸。

The result would be visible straight away – a green circle if the coronavirus was detected, and a blue circle if it wasn't. The paper devices would be easy to stack, store and transport, and could be burned after use.

结果将是直接可见的——如果检测到冠状病毒，是一个绿色的圆圈，如果没有检测到，是一个蓝色的圆圈。这种纸制装置易于堆放、储存和运输，使用后可以焚烧。

Recent research has shown that the new coronavirus can be isolated from urine and faeces, and can survive for several days outside of a living organism, and that gives the scientists confidence that a wastewater test could work.

最近的研究表明，这种新型冠状病毒可以从尿液和粪便中分离出来，并且可以在活的有机体之外存活数天，这让科学家们相信废水测试是可行的。

For now, it's just a concept and has not been put into practice, but it has obvious potential. In areas where SARS-CoV-2 was found, additional steps could be taken to minimise the spread, giving health authorities yet another way to get on top of the situation.

目前，这还只是一个概念，还没有付诸实践，但它具有明显的潜力。在发现SARS-CoV-2的地区，可以采取额外的措施来最大限度地减少传播，为卫生当局提供另一种控制局势的方法。

The research has been published in Environmental Science & Technology.

该研究发表在《环境科学与技术》杂志上。