UArizona Says It Caught A Dorm’s COVID-19 Outbreak Before It Started. Its Secret Weapon: Poop.

UArizona officials said that the campus’s wastewater COVID-19 detection technique — developed, in part, by UArizona WEST center director and BIO5 member Dr. Ian Pepper — possibly prevented a sizable outbreak on campus. Wastewater samples from the dorms have been regularly tested for signs of COVID-19 since students returned to campus in August.