News — A recent study suggests that the monitoring of wastewater could serve as an advanced alert system, assisting countries in enhancing their preparedness for upcoming pandemics.
The Murdoch Children's Research Institute, in partnership with The Rockefeller Foundation, Mathematica, and the United Kingdom's Health Security Agency, conducted an international collaboration to explore the various approaches countries employ in monitoring wastewater during infectious disease outbreaks. The study also identified areas that could benefit from improvements in wastewater monitoring practices.
During the study, samples were collected from treatment plants, rivers, wetlands, and open drains across 43 nations, encompassing six continents. The data collected pertained to the year 2022.
Professor Julie Bines, affiliated with Murdoch Children's Research Institute and the University of Melbourne, collaborated with researchers from Universitas Gadjah Mada in Yogjakarta. According to her, the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has underscored the importance of having strong and resilient disease surveillance systems.
"Despite numerous years of dedicated funding towards global infectious disease surveillance and the presence of warning signs from both traditional and non-traditional data sources, the swift transmission of SARS-CoV-2 caught much of the world off-guard," she stated.
"If a dedicated surveillance system had been in place, constantly vigilant and transmitting information about pathogens circulating worldwide, the pandemic might have unfolded differently. Such a system could have enabled experts to identify SARS-CoV-2 much more rapidly. Even if the spread of the pandemic was inevitable, healthcare systems could have better prepared for the consequences with advanced notice, ultimately saving countless lives."
The research, which was published in The Lancet Global Health, revealed that monitoring for SARS-CoV-2 variants was more prevalent in high-income countries (59 percent) compared to lower middle-income countries (13 percent). The majority of the collected data was shared internally and with partner organizations but not made publicly available. Furthermore, the study highlighted the absence of comprehensive guidelines to promote ethical practices in wastewater monitoring.
According to Professor Bines, the study demonstrated that testing for COVID-19 in wastewater proved to be a reliable and unbiased method of assessing the spread of the disease. The majority of the collected samples were processed in less than four days, making it an efficient approach to track the transmission of the virus.
Professor Bines emphasized that with continued attention and investment, wastewater surveillance has the potential to serve as a global early warning system for infectious disease outbreaks. By harnessing the power of wastewater monitoring, timely detection and response to emerging infections can be enhanced, ultimately contributing to better preparedness and mitigation strategies on a global scale.
She emphasized the importance of establishing a comprehensive international framework for wastewater monitoring that incorporates adaptable testing methods, improved data collection and reporting, and ethical monitoring practices that do not perpetuate the marginalization of underprivileged communities.
"In doing so, we could effectively detect various present and future health risks, such as cholera, mpox (formerly monkeypox), influenza, and typhoid, before they become widespread in a community. However, it is crucial that we receive assistance in the development of robust systems capable of accurately capturing, interpreting, and communicating data from diverse regions, particularly in vulnerable communities with limited infrastructure."
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