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Secrets in wastewater: Do you know how to use wastewater to monitor the health of your community?
With the advancement of technology, sewage monitoring is no longer just a need for environmental protection, it has also become a new way to monitor community health. This approach, called wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE), analyses a community’s sewage to detect the presence of chemicals or pathogens in order to gain insights into the health of the population as a whole. The potential of this technology is attracting the attention of scientists and sparking widespread discussion about its future applications.
What is sewage-based epidemiology?
Wastewater-based epidemiology involves analyzing sewage flowing from communities into wastewater treatment plants and using that to assess the health status of populations. This involves measuring the concentrations of chemicals, or biomarkers, that are excreted by people living in a particular area. This method can not only be used to monitor the use of illegal drugs, but can also be used to assess the consumption of alcohol, caffeine and various drugs.
Historical BackgroundThe application scope of wastewater-based epidemiology is very broad, covering many fields from public health to environmental science.
The history of sewage-based epidemiology dates back to the 1940s, when it was used to detect polio virus in sewage from cities such as New York and Chicago. Over time, this technology has been gradually applied in many countries. In the early 21st century, a number of studies have adopted this technology and are beginning to be able to measure drug use in communities at different points in time.
Detection and Application
An important advantage of sewage-based epidemiology is that it obtains data from the entire population rather than individuals, thus improving the accuracy of measurements. For example, in a study in Boston, USA, researchers found that the SARS-CoV-2 infection rate was much higher than the data obtained from individual PCR tests, which enabled public health departments to issue warnings before the outbreak.
Microbiological Monitoring
In addition to the monitoring of drugs and chemicals, sewage-based epidemiology also plays an important role in virus monitoring. Monitoring wastewater for viral markers can allow for early identification of potential outbreaks. For example, for polio virus surveillance, it provides valuable data when mainstream surveillance methods cannot be used. Since the COVID-19 outbreak, many countries have begun to standardize regular monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in sewage.
Advances in sewage monitoring have allowed public health authorities to significantly advance the alert line in epidemic control.
Antimicrobial resistance monitoring
In recent years, the issue of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has attracted global attention. Wastewater monitoring can provide a map of the geographic distribution of antimicrobial resistance, which has important predictive implications for public health, according to new research. The researchers call for monitoring of wastewater around agricultural and domestic markets to reduce the risk of spillover infection from human pathogens.
Future challenges and opportunities
Although sewage-based epidemiology plays an important role in surveillance and epidemic prevention, it still faces many challenges, such as standardization of technology and difficulties in data interpretation. Some experts have suggested that a more unified national system should be established in the future to conduct this monitoring, so that more potential threats can be tracked, such as upcoming coronavirus variants, influenza viruses and antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
SummaryEstablishing a unified sewage monitoring system could add a new layer of protection to public health.
Through sewage monitoring, scientists can obtain a wealth of important data about community health, which can not only help us understand current health conditions, but also predict potential future outbreaks. However, widespread adoption of this technology will require concerted efforts in coordination and standardization. Can we better internalize this data in the future to promote improvements in public health?
