Lab Matters Fall 2025 | Page 25

ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
ASTHO
CSTE:
Can’ t Get Enough Wastewater Surveillance? Check out some other resources!
• Framework for Addressing Ethical Considerations in Infectious Diseases Public Health Wastewater Surveillance
• Public Health Impact Stories( can search by state or filter by wastewater surveillance)
APHL Publications
• National Trends in Wastewater Surveillance: 2023 Survey Report
• SARS-CoV-2 Wastewater Surveillance Testing Guide for Public Health Laboratories
APHL Lab Matters
• CDC and NCBI Coordinate Wastewater-based Genomic Surveillance Data
• Wastewater Surveillance for More Than SARS-CoV-2
• Environmental Health Laboratory Fellows Make a Difference
• Supporting Polio and Mpox Population Surveillance through Wastewater Testing
• Health Equity Through PFAS and Wastewater Surveillance
• Considerations for Implementing Wastewater Surveillance in Rural Communities
• NWSS Centers of Excellence Live Up to Their Names
• Metagenomics May Offer Value Across Many Areas of Public Health
APHL Blog Posts
• Wastewater surveillance gained prominence during the pandemic. Where is it now?
• Waste Not: Building a Wastewater Surveillance System in Zambia
• Testing the Waters: Ethiopia Pilots a Wastewater Surveillance Program
• How Kenya Built a Wastewater-based Surveillance System: Six Questions Answered
• Eyes Below the Surface: Wastewater Surveillance Pilot Program in Uganda Shows Potential for Future Pandemic Monitoring
( dPCR) and GeneXpert. Using dPCR, they detected hepatitis A during the draft and were able to report the detection within 24 hours. After discussing with the local health department, hepatitis awareness communication went out to the county via social media, reminding the community of symptoms and how to minimize their risk. After the draft, wastewater levels returned to normal, although a hepatitis A signal has returned along with an ongoing outbreak investigation in the area.
In 2021, the North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services( NCDHHS) began displaying wastewater surveillance data on a public dashboard. Since then, they have received positive feedback about the public value of the data. The health director for Asheville said wastewater surveillance is a valuable tool to track illnesses like flu and COVID-19, inform health messaging and encourage public health actions like vaccination or notifications to local healthcare providers. Additionally, one immunocompromised resident stated she uses this data to determine when to schedule non-urgent doctors’ appointments or attend group activities. She said wastewater surveillance was a“ trusted bright light” in North Carolina and uses this data to arm herself with“ correct and current information” for her daily life.
While there is still much to learn about how to optimize wastewater surveillance as a public health decision making tool in the US, these jurisdictions have demonstrated their current utility and future potential to strategically manage community diseases. g
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Fall 2025 LAB MATTERS 23