Wastewater monitoring for public health

Date:
February 7, 2022
Source:
University of California - Davis
Summary:
Researchers have been monitoring wastewater on the UC Davis campus
and in the city of Davis for COVID-19 through the Healthy Davis
Together program. A new article reviews their experiences and the
advantages and limitations of wastewater testing as a public health
tool in the COVID-19 pandemic.



FULL STORY ========================================================================== Since September 2020, University of California, Davis, researchers have
been monitoring wastewater on the UC Davis campus and in the city of
Davis for COVID-19 through the Healthy Davis Together program. A new
article published Feb. 8 in Proceedings of the National Academy of
Sciences reviews their experiences and the advantages and limitations
of wastewater testing as a public health tool in the COVID-19 pandemic.


========================================================================== Assistant Professor Heather Bischel and doctoral student Hannah Safford, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Karen Shapiro,
associate professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine, manage the city/campus wastewater monitoring program, which now includes collections weekly, triweekly or daily from over 50 sites distributed across the
UC Davis campus and city of Davis sewer networks. Their results have
supported the return of students to campus and helped officials understand
the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

"Continued deployment of wastewater-based epidemiology in ways that take
into account the needs of decision makers, and pragmatically weigh costs
and benefits, will no doubt do much to help end the pandemic," they wrote.

Advantages and limitations Because infected people begin excreting virus
days before developing symptoms, wastewater monitoring can provide an
early warning of infection in the community. The approach is also more cost-effective than large-scale individual clinical testing when it
comes to gathering data on disease levels in a region.

But as Safford, Shapiro and Bischel explained, wastewater monitoring
also has limitations. It is less effective as an early-warning system
when community transmission is high. And while relatively inexpensive, wastewater monitoring is not cost-free. It requires specialized equipment
such as autosamplers, as well as staff to collect, process and analyze
samples. Investing in wastewater monitoring can also divert time and
resources from other efforts.

Finally, deciding how to act on wastewater data can be challenging,
as the results do not show who may be infected: They can only point
to a neighborhood or a building complex (such as a university dorm) of
possible concern. In Davis, Healthy Davis Together has used wastewater
data to strategically target email, text alerts and incentives encouraging Davis residents to get tested when local virus levels are on the rise.

The PNASpiece includes a series of recommendations for using wastewater monitoring in COVID-19 response. These include avoiding redundancy with clinical testing, thoughtful design of sampling and data-analysis plans, defining action thresholds, monitoring fewer sites but more frequently, building on existing infrastructure and being prepared to adapt and
communicate with other practitioners, epidemiologists and public health officials.

special promotion Explore the latest scientific research on sleep and
dreams in this free online course from New Scientist -- Sign_up_now_>>> ========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by
University_of_California_-_Davis. Original written by Andy Fell. Note:
Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Hannah R. Safford, Karen Shapiro, Heather N. Bischel. Opinion:
Wastewater
analysis can be a powerful public health tool -- if it's done
sensibly.

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2022; 119 (6):
e2119600119 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2119600119 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/02/220207155651.htm

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