The concentration of SARS-CoV2 in wastewater in local areas provides the earliest indicators for monitoring the epidemic, ahead of individual nasopharyngeal tests (approximately six days in advance), SICPA said.
This collective, non-invasive, efficient method can provide a short-term forecast of the local risk of the epidemic, according to SICPA.
Based on real-time monitoring of the progression of each variant it can enable the local healthcare system to adapt and be prepared, SICPA noted.
Targeted at "sensitive" sites and critical infrastructures, it permits protecting the most vulnerable and maintaining critical sites in operation, per SICPA.
It is within this framework that three operators are joining forces to offer a complete real-time decision management system – OpenHealth, a French company in the collection, processing and analysis of health data on behalf of the authorities, industry and research organizations; the NRBCE - COMETE unit of the Marseille Firefighters' Battalion, with its technical and operational excellence, particularly in high quality sampling and analysis; and SICPA.
This system, which is likely to mobilize civil security forces, provides territories with an agile, sectorized capacity for action by identifying the emergence of potential clusters and taking appropriate, efficient measures e.g. a screening campaign within an establishment, SICPA said.
This solution is highly operational and can be immediately deployed within a few days anywhere in France and internationally, according to SICPA.
In addition to the daily epidemiological monitoring capacity, it enables highly localized actions to be taken at the territory or neighborhood level or for a healthcare center or a specific sensitive site, SICPA said.
The system includes a precise sampling protocol, a secure supply of test and analysis reagents and a platform for processing and reporting results in real-time, accessible online 24/7 by the authorities, per SICPA.
The value of this health monitoring system goes beyond the COVID-19 epidemic and it can also be used to monitor other pathogens, SICPA noted.
