One of the most-remembered experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic was undoubtedly the regular testing which we had to undertake whether we had symptoms of the infection or not, and before we'd see family, friends, or enter into populated environments - whilst this activity was unavoidable and absolutely necessary, it certainly wasn't enjoyable, and failed to provide us with a full picture of how the disease was spreading through the population, or the way in which it was doing so. During the pandemic, researchers at Queen's University Belfast came together to develop an innovative approach which allowed coronavirus levels to be detected via analysis of our wastewater, providing a wealth of information to public health agencies and beyond, and allowing for early and decisive action to be taken to prevent further spread.

In this episode of PharmCast, Dr Dan Corbett is joined by Professor Jenny McKinley from Queen's School of Natural and Built Environment, Professor John McKinley from the School of Biological Sciences, and Dr Deirdre Gilpin from the School of Pharmacy to discuss the project, how it brought together academics, health agencies, and other public sector bodies, and the future of the technology, including how it might be able to help us to contain outbreaks of infections in the future.

You can find out more about the Wastewater Surveillance Project and its impact HERE, and you can keep up to date with the latest research work being developed by the project team by following their feed on Twitter.