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Modern applications of ancient wisdom: How sewage can help track the secrets of virus spread?
When we talk about monitoring community health, wastewater analysis may not be the first tool that comes to mind. However, more and more scientists and public health experts are using wastewater-based epidemiology to identify and track the presence of the virus and its transmission path, demonstrating new applications of ancient wisdom in modern public health strategies. .
Sewage contains health indicators that we are not easily aware of, which is crucial for controlling and predicting potential epidemics.
The core idea of basic wastewater epidemiology is that the chemicals and pathogens in human waste can reflect the health of a community. Researchers take samples from wastewater treatment plants and analyze the chemical indicators and pathogen loads in these effluents to infer possible health events in the community. For example, during the COVID-19 pandemic, scientists analyzed the RNA of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage samples to monitor viral trends.
Historical evolution
Based wastewater epidemiology is not a new technology. Its history can be traced back to the 1940s, when scientists first used this method to detect poliovirus. Over time, this technology has been adopted and expanded around the world. A 2005 study analyzed water samples from Italy's Po River and found the presence of cocaine and its metabolites.
With the rapid development of basic sewage epidemiology after 2000, various countries have successively established monitoring systems for drug use and public health.
Technical principles
Basic wastewater epidemiology works similarly to urine testing of individuals, but here for entire communities. The urine and feces discharged by residents will eventually flow to the sewage treatment plant. Sewage samples are collected and analyzed through automatic samplers. Experts use advanced analytical technologies, such as liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), to quantify Analyze wastewater for specific chemicals.
This community-based approach to analysis provides a more comprehensive view, revealing the health of an entire community rather than just individual data.
Application fields
Virus monitoring
One of the main applications of this technology is virus monitoring. Studies have shown that the presence of pathogens such as poliovirus, enterovirus and coronavirus can be detected in wastewater. During the COVID-19 epidemic, many countries launched basic wastewater epidemiological surveillance programs, which not only assisted in assessing the viral load in the community, but also served as a precursor warning system for the outbreak to some extent.
Antimicrobial resistance
In recent years, wastewater monitoring has also become an important tool for studying antimicrobial resistance. Some studies have found that different resistance genes are present in sewage samples and that these genes are transferred between different microbial species, posing a potential threat to public health.
Quick report on large-scale epidemic
Wastewater monitoring is also used to identify outbreaks of rare diseases such as monkeypox. This technology provides critical warning time to public health authorities, allowing them to better allocate resources and develop interventions.
Compared to traditional individual testing, sewage testing can provide health insights into the entire community and help prevent the spread of disease in a timely manner.
Future challenges and prospects
Although basic wastewater epidemiology has great potential in public health surveillance, there are still some challenges, such as standardization of detection technology and continued financial support. In 2023, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine called for a more standardized national system that could more effectively track a wide range of pathogens, including future coronavirus variants and other emerging pathogens.
The application of basic sewage epidemiology is becoming more and more popular, and it also makes people rethink the impact of our living environment on health. In this case, we can't help but ask, how many health secrets are hidden in the sewage that we are not aware of?
