The New Mexico Environment Department is currently monitoring SARS-CoV-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) in wastewater at congregate settings in the state. Symptomatic and asymptomatic individuals who are infected with SARS-CoV-2 shed the virus in their feces. This creates an opportunity to monitor for the presence of the virus in sewage. New Mexico’s Wastewater Surveillance System provides valuable information to decision-makers that, along with a variety of other data, helps inform public health actions that can help to control the spread of COVID-19.
The line graphs below present the amount of the virus measured in wastewater samples collected at each facility through time. At some facilities, samples are being collected at multiple locations and therefore plotted on separate graphs. The current level of concern listed below each graph is based on the most recent sample while the current trend is based on the three most recently collected samples. Increasing and decreasing trends are flagged when there is an order of magnitude (or 10-fold) change in measurements.
Please note that scientists are still learning about the timing, magnitude, and rate of shedding of the virus in feces of infected people. It is therefore most appropriate to monitor and observe trends in the amount of virus detected over time. Additionally, the science behind using the sewage data to predict numbers of infected individuals is still evolving. What is known is that as virus concentrations increase over time, it is likely that the number of infected individuals is increasing. Order of magnitude increases are more indicative of changes than smaller increases. The nature of this correlation, however, depends on site-specific factors. Wastewater results should therefore not be compared across facilities.
For more information, please see our Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) below.
Wastewater Surveillance FAQs
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