Why Wastewater-based Epidemiology?

The launch of this new section focused on Wastewater-based Epidemiology is timely and vital. WBE is likely to feature in the armory of those tasked with responding to threats to public health. We wish to have a dedicated repository for broad, interdisciplinary WBE science and policy research that socialises the growth in this field and the necessary cross-pollination in the wider health and science communities.

Read our launch document which fully articulates the need for this specialised repository.

The response of the research community throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the vast array of scientific and technological innovations, rapidly developed and utilised to meet the urgent public health challenges that have emerged.

This Special Issue presents a broad view of WBE thinking and practice, delineating the current understanding and future potential of the field. The topics covered range from geographically distinct reports on the use of WBE to inform on pathogen circulation in a population, through technical developments and data utility, to commentaries on future challenges and opportunities including for WBE ‘beyond the Pandemic’.

Articles

Detection and abundance of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater in Liechtenstein, and the estimation of prevalence and impact of the B.1.1.7 variant

Wastewater monitoring of COVID-19: a perspective from Scotland

Monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater: what normalisation for improved understanding of epidemic trends?

Modeling the relationship between SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater or sludge and COVID-19 cases in three New England regions

A case study of a community-organized wastewater surveillance in a small community: correlating weekly reported COVID-19 cases with SARS-CoV-2 RNA concentrations during fall 2020 to summer 2021 in Yarmouth, ME

Challenges in realising the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology to quantitatively monitor and predict the spread of disease

Prevalence of enteric viruses in wastewater in Egypt after the COVID-19 pandemic

Monitoring the exposure and emissions of antibiotic resistance: Co-occurrence of antibiotics and resistance genes in wastewater treatment plants

Modeling infection from SARS-CoV-2 wastewater concentrations: promise, limitations, and future directions

Research needs for optimising wastewater-based epidemiology monitoring for public health protection