The Amazing Tools we have Compared to 1918

Poop may tell us when the coronavirus lockdown will end

 

In 1918 humans had not yet learned of the existence of DNA and RNA.  This sewage-sampling method will be an efficient way to approximate numbers of people infected if we can work out how concentrations of viral DNA in sewage correlate to the number of people who have the disease and are shedding virus.  The figures derived so far again suggest that the infection fatality rate may be lower than it appears because so many people who have it don't have symptoms.