ISO/WD 7014

Water quality — General requirements for the determination of SARS-CoV-2 and its variants in wastewater

Scope

This proposed International Standard gives a method to detect SARS-CoV-2 and its variants as well as other viruses in waste water. This standard is intended to provide a cost effective, rapid and reliable detection of SARS- CoV-2 in the population and to deliver relevant information of an increased genomic and epidemiological virus emergence. Waste water monitoring should be considered as a complementary and independent approach to COVID-19 surveillance and testing strategies. The analysis method refers to the recommendation of the EU Commission to EU Member States and is based on the detection of genes by RT-PCR and gene sequencing methods.