
Faculty, Staff and Student Publications
Publication Date
1-1-2023
Journal
Public Health Reports
Abstract
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater surveillance has emerged as a powerful tool used by public health authorities to track SARS-CoV-2 infections in communities. In May 2020, the Houston Health Department began working with a coalition of municipal and academic partners to develop a wastewater monitoring and reporting system for the city of Houston, Texas. Data collected from the system are integrated with other COVID-19 surveillance data and communicated through different channels to local authorities and the general public. This information is used to shape policies and inform actions to mitigate and prevent the spread of COVID-19 at municipal, institutional, and individual levels. Based on the success of this monitoring and reporting system to drive public health protection efforts, the wastewater surveillance program is likely to become a standard part of the public health toolkit for responding to infectious diseases and, potentially, other disease-causing outbreaks.
Keywords
Humans, COVID-19, Public Health, Pandemics, SARS-CoV-2, Wastewater, Wastewater-Based Epidemiological Monitoring
DOI
10.1177/00333549231185625
PMID
37503606
PMCID
PMC10576486
PubMedCentral® Posted Date
July 2023
PubMedCentral® Full Text Version
Post-print
Published Open-Access
yes