AUTHOR=Gitter Anna , Oghuan Jeremiah , Godbole Anuja Rajendra , Chavarria Carlos A. , Monserrat Carlos , Hu Tao , Wang Yun , Maresso Anthony W. , Hanson Blake M. , Mena Kristina D. , Wu Fuqing TITLE=Not a waste: Wastewater surveillance to enhance public health JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemical Engineering VOLUME=4 YEAR=2023 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemical-engineering/articles/10.3389/fceng.2022.1112876 DOI=10.3389/fceng.2022.1112876 ISSN=2673-2718 ABSTRACT=

Domestic wastewater, when collected and evaluated appropriately, can provide valuable health-related information for a community. As a relatively unbiased and non-invasive approach, wastewater surveillance may complement current practices towards mitigating risks and protecting population health. Spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater programs are now widely implemented to monitor viral infection trends in sewersheds and inform public health decision-making. This review summarizes recent developments in wastewater-based epidemiology for detecting and monitoring communicable infectious diseases, dissemination of antimicrobial resistance, and illicit drug consumption. Wastewater surveillance, a quickly advancing Frontier in environmental science, is becoming a new tool to enhance public health, improve disease prevention, and respond to future epidemics and pandemics.