On Jun. 23, 2020, studies in the Netherlands and other places have shown that the presence of SARS-Coronavirus-2, or the novel coronavirus, can be detected in human waste. University of Missouri researchers announced they had partnered with the Missouri Department of Conservation and the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in the Coronavirus Sewershed Surveillance Project.

This new project will detect the presence of the novel coronavirus in samples of wastewater from across the state to help inform disease mitigation efforts.