Sewage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight

Joined
Aug 21, 2011
Posts
15,623
Qantas
Platinum
Virgin
Platinum
SkyTeam
Elite Plus
Star Alliance
Gold
I've been listening to the ABC's coronacast podcast almost every day since it started, and have found it to be an interesting and reliable source of COVID-19 information and advice.

On today's episode they had a guest, Paul Birch from the CSIRO, talking about sewerage testing as a way to detect COVID-19 in the community, which is something some states are now doing with reasonable success.

Towards the end of the interview, Dr Birch mentioned that scientists had taken a sample of the aircraft's waste water at the end of QF112, the recent Qantas repatriation flight from Delhi to Darwin. All the passengers on board had tested negative for COVID-19 three days before the flight, but despite this they picked up fragmants of the virus in the plane's sewerage - indicating that at least 1 passenger likely had COVID-19. Sure enough, all of the passengers were tested again on the first day of quarantine and 5 tested positive.

I just thought it was interesting how they were able to pick this up before even testing the passengers.

Here's the episode - Everything you've wanted to know about sewage testing
 
Did all passengers test negative in the three days before the flight, or did all show documentation that they tested negative? There might be a difference.

But that aside it is entirely plausible that they could contract the virus in the intervening period, or the infection could reach detectable levels during that period.
 
Read our AFF credit card guides and start earning more points now.

AFF Supporters can remove this and all advertisements

Did all passengers test negative in the three days before the flight, or did all show documentation that they tested negative? There might be a difference.

Given that a large percentage of the pilots from that part of the world have falsified flying licences, I'd not be surprised at all. My wife used to work for a university that had lots of foreign students, and it was common to find false education certificates, etc.
 
Did all passengers test negative in the three days before the flight, or did all show documentation that they tested negative? There might be a difference.

But that aside it is entirely plausible that they could contract the virus in the intervening period, or the infection could reach detectable levels during that period.
While not discounting what seem to be plausible reports of fraudulent pre-flight tests "being a thing". There is a history of a few people in hotel quarantine in NSW only testing positive at day 11, so as you point out, viral load does seem to take some time to develop to a detectable level in some people.

For the above reason, pre-flight testing is not an acceptable solution to suppressing the spread of this virus. In my opinion it creates a complacent level of false security, which will in fact help the virus disperse, not hinder it.
 
While not discounting what seem to be plausible reports of fraudulent pre-flight tests "being a thing". There is a history of a few people in hotel quarantine in NSW only testing positive at day 11, so as you point out, viral load does seem to take some time to develop to a detectable level in some people.

For the above reason, pre-flight testing is not an acceptable solution to suppressing the spread of this virus. In my opinion it creates a complacent level of false security, which will in fact help the virus disperse, not hinder it.
All of SA positives in around 3 months have been from international passengers in quarantine, or from Victoria in quarantine (just 1) as are all of our current active cases.
 
A real time case study into the pointlessness of pre-event testing is playing out on "The Points Guy" website right now!

They sent a blogger to cover the resumption of cruising in the Caribbean, on the first ship to set sail...


Everyone was tested 3 days before cruise, tested again on embarkation, and testing a few days into the cruise, and...


And just a few days later, within this closed and pre-tested environment, a passenger gets a positive test result. And the next day, more negatives turn positive...

 
A real time case study into the pointlessness of pre-event testing is playing out on "The Points Guy" website right now!

They sent a blogger to cover the resumption of cruising in the Caribbean, on the first ship to set sail...


Everyone was tested 3 days before cruise, tested again on embarkation, and testing a few days into the cruise, and...


And just a few days later, within this closed and pre-tested environment, a passenger gets a positive test result. And the next day, more negatives turn positive...

The traveller’s page of updates

 
Oh, yes. The excitement of buying tickets for a COVID cruise. Bets being taken on who will succumb first. 😳

The trip of your (only) lifetime.
 
A technicality regarding the thread title: Sewerage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight

Sewerage, or the sewers, refers to the structure in which waste (including sewage) flows through pipes and drains to a treatment plant.

Sewage is the human waste that flows into the sewers and usually ends up at sewage treatment works.

So, sewage refers to the waste that is discharged, whereas sewerage/sewers are the structure that the discharge goes through. They are different things and the terms are not interchangeable.

It’s not the sewerage system that is being tested, but the waste product that flows through the sewerage. i.e., the sewage is being tested.

More correctly: Sewage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight. 😀

Edit: Probably due to spellcheck. 😉
 
Last edited:
A technicality regarding the thread title: Sewerage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight

Sewerage, or the sewers, refers to the structure in which waste (including sewage) flows through pipes and drains to a treatment plant.

Sewage is the human waste that flows into the sewers and usually ends up at sewage treatment works.

So, sewage refers to the waste that is discharged, whereas sewerage/sewers are the structure that the discharge goes through. They are different things and the terms are not interchangeable.

It’s not the sewerage system that is being tested, but the waste product that flows through the sewerage. i e., the sewage is being tested.

More correctly: Sewage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight. 😀

Edit: Probably due to spellcheck. 😉
Copy to grammar thread?
 
When Governments are pouring cash into anything with a 'Covid' stamp on it - there's bound to be these opportunistic studies.

I'm sure we'll see a startup do 'mass air testing' in cities, or a car manufacturer do in car air testing or heck, maybe even masks that change colour if it detects certain viruses.

Anything to make a buck :(
 
Did all passengers test negative in the three days before the flight, or did all show documentation that they tested negative? There might be a difference.
We have received NUMEROUS swabs for testing in our lab that are unopened - they haven't even bothered taking the lid off the swab to break the perforations in the label.

In addition, I can guarantee with more than 99% certainly some of those 'collections' where the swab is lightly wafted on the outer nostrils will also be negative.

So..... yeah, a negative result doesn't exactly mean a lot, if all the other pre-analytical steps aren't done correctly.
 
A technicality regarding the thread title: Sewerage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight

Sewerage, or the sewers, refers to the structure in which waste (including sewage) flows through pipes and drains to a treatment plant.

Sewage is the human waste that flows into the sewers and usually ends up at sewage treatment works.

So, sewage refers to the waste that is discharged, whereas sewerage/sewers are the structure that the discharge goes through. They are different things and the terms are not interchangeable.

It’s not the sewerage system that is being tested, but the waste product that flows through the sewerage. i.e., the sewage is being tested.

More correctly: Sewage testing detects COVID-19 on Qantas DEL-DRW repatriation flight. 😀

Edit: Probably due to spellcheck. 😉

Good pickup. I've fixed that for you. ;)
 
  • Like
Reactions: DC3
Oh, yes. The excitement of buying tickets for a COVID cruise. Bets being taken on who will succumb first. 😳

The trip of your (only) lifetime.
Wow!

Brings a whole new meaning to going in a Calcutta!
 
  • Like
Reactions: DC3
So many sewage cases in Qld towns before the election and never a case found.Another false positive to keep us in a state of fear.
 

Become an AFF member!

Join Australian Frequent Flyer (AFF) for free and unlock insider tips, exclusive deals, and global meetups with 65,000+ frequent flyers.

AFF members can also access our Frequent Flyer Training courses, and upgrade to Fast-track your way to expert traveller status and unlock even more exclusive discounts!

AFF forum abbreviations

Wondering about Y, J or any of the other abbreviations used on our forum?

Check out our guide to common AFF acronyms & abbreviations.

Staff online

Back
Top