How spying on sewage could save lives
Wastewater surveillance is a cheap tool to spot health problems, but it is open to abuse
If, as the saying goes, you are what you eat, then it stands to reason you also excrete what you are. Vladimir Putin apparently appreciates this fact. When he relieves himself on trips abroad, it is reported that a modern-day “groom of the stool” discreetly retrieves the dictator’s waste for subsequent disposal, lest it fall into the hands of hostile intelligence agencies, whose analysis might reveal compromising signs of ill-health.
This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Spying on sewage could save lives”
From the September 10th 2022 edition
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