As the Federal Government ramps up its response to the coronavirus pandemic, what we flush down the toilet could soon play a role in tracking and stemming the spread of COVID-19.

Key points: The Government will use wastewater to monitor for localised COVID-19 outbreaks

The Government will use wastewater to monitor for localised COVID-19 outbreaks Research suggests people may excrete virus material before they show symptoms

Research suggests people may excrete virus material before they show symptoms It is hoped the move will increase the Government's ability to quickly respond to outbreaks

Health Minister Greg Hunt has said Australia's sewage will soon be monitored for the presence of coronavirus, acting as an early warning sign for future outbreaks.

It's already used to detect illegal drug use in communities.

But how will it work to stop the spread of COVID-19?

We spoke to people who know all things about, well, poo.

What does the Government want to do?

The Prime Minister yesterday outlined Australia's coronavirus exit strategy, listing three conditions that needed to be met in order for its tight restrictions to be rolled back.

One of them was the ability to rapidly respond to local outbreaks or anticipate them, and Mr Hunt said sampling and testing wastewater was a big part of that.

He told Channel Seven that by keeping track of levels of coronavirus in sewage, governments could quickly adjust their response.

"If there's a suburb that hasn't had a case identified but it is in the wastewater stream, then we realise we need to focus on that suburb to find the people," he said.

The strategy will be used alongside increased testing and better tracing of cases to improve the Government's capability to manage outbreaks.

How will experts test our poo?

Professor Kevin Thomas, an environmental health scientist at Queensland University, has already run a pilot in south-east Queensland testing sewage, where he managed to detect traces of SARS-COV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19 — in excrement.

Because fragments of the virus are shed in faeces, scientists look for it in sewage.

The wastewater will be tested at intake points at treatment plants. ( ABC News: Tony King )

But they're not in hazmat suits wading through the sewerage system trying to fish it out.

This is a sophisticated form of water epidemiology.

Professor Thomas said it starts by scientists taking samples of effluent at the intake points of wastewater treatment plants in different catchment areas.

And he said to an average person, it basically looked like brown, dirty water.

"It is essentially dispersed solid in a predominately liquid sample."

After that, scientists use filtration to extract RNA from the sample, which is a genetic code that tells them if SARS-COV-2 is present.

Why is it a good idea?

Research published by the journal Nature Medicine recently found people shed or excrete COVID-19 viral material two to three days before they get symptoms.

The information means governments could potentially identify COVID-19 hotspots before the people infected have even realised they're sick.

Professor Thomas said the test gave health authorities a clearer understanding of whether there had been community transmission in an area.

"It provides government with an additional tool to go to and in its simplest form it can tell us if COVID-19 has infected a community or not," he said.

"This provides an integrative community-level measurement, as opposed to individual testing that has been used so far."

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Some scientists have suggested the information could also even be used as a monitoring tool once restriction regulations are relaxed.

What are the issues with poo tests?

Scientifically, the technique is not yet perfect.

Professor Thomas said there were a lot of details to iron out, such as determining the best way of extracting the RNA from wastewater.

But while testing poo for the virus that causes COVID-19 is new, looking at sewage itself isn't a novel method.

It's an established way of testing for illegal drugs and antibiotics and it's also been used to measure viruses like the ones that cause polio.

So it shouldn't be pooh-poohed.

Professor Thomas said it was important for scientists around Australia to map-out what work they've done so far, so they can monitor everyone's poo on a broader scale and share findings.