Wastewater pandemic preparedness: Toward an end-to-end pathogen monitoring program.

Authors

Justin R Clark
Austen Terwilliger
Vasanthi Avadhanula
Michael Tisza
Juwan Cormier
Sara Javornik-Cregeen
Matthew Clayton Ross
Kristi Louise Hoffman
Catherine Troisi
Blake Hanson
Joseph Petrosino
John Balliew
Pedro A Piedra
Janelle Rios
Jennifer Deegan
Cici Bauer
Fuqing Wu
Kristina D Mena
Eric Boerwinkle
Anthony W Maresso

Publication Date

1-1-2023

Journal

Frontiers in Public Health

Abstract

Molecular analysis of public wastewater has great potential as a harbinger for community health and health threats. Long-used to monitor the presence of enteric viruses, in particular polio, recent successes of wastewater as a reliable lead indicator for trends in SARS-CoV-2 levels and hospital admissions has generated optimism and emerging evidence that similar science can be applied to other pathogens of pandemic potential (PPPs), especially respiratory viruses and their variants of concern (VOC). However, there are substantial challenges associated with implementation of this ideal, namely that multiple and distinct fields of inquiry must be bridged and coordinated. These include engineering, molecular sciences, temporal-geospatial analytics, epidemiology and medical, and governmental and public health messaging, all of which present their own caveats. Here, we outline a framework for an integrated, state-wide, end-to-end human pathogen monitoring program using wastewater to track viral PPPs.

Keywords

Humans, Wastewater, SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19, Pandemics, Public Health