7th joint conference "Joint Microbiology & Infection Conference 2024" of the DGHM and VAAM

Abstract: Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) can serve and support the public health sector by providing additional valuable indicators of infection incidence in communities. Though it was first used over 80 years ago to monitor Polio outbreaks, WBE experienced a resurgence after the onset of the SARS-CoV 2 pandemic, with global research efforts and collaborations improving sampling infrastructure and developing new analysis methods. Wastewater monitoring of SARS-CoV-2 has been shown to provide early warnings of increased incidence in communities and uncover variant occurrence profiles across time and geographic space. We have been able to expand the horizon of wastewater surveillance by leveraging the now well-established WBE infrastructures to monitor trends in the spread of other pathogens, including monkeypox and influenza. Due to the modular nature of wastewater infrastructure, surveying the emergence of many diseases and mutations is possible at multiple community levels (buildings, neighbourhoods, cities, airports, and individual flights), allowing for tailored public health responses. Next-generation sequencing of wastewater allows for whole or near whole genome resolution of the genetic assemblies of circulating bacterial and viral pathogens and antimicrobial resistance genes, providing a holistic understanding of pathogen dynamics within a community. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, working with health authorities, we have been monitoring SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater at the National and European level in our lab, which has allowed us to observe the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 variants in wastewater shed region before reported in clinical data. We have also been successfully monitoring SARS-CoV-2 variants on incoming flights to the Frankfurt International Airport, as well as profiling variants in the surrounding urban communities. We are also looking at the impact of COVID-19 on circulating antimicrobial resistance, as it will provide information about whether the change in people's behaviour toward disinfectants and hygiene practices impacted antimicrobial resistance. We are expanding our methods to profile other diseases in wastewater to further utilize the potential of WBE as an early monitoring system as a part of the One-Health concept.

Wastewater Based Epidemiology – Potentials for pandemic management

Franconia Saal (Plenary Hall)

FG DKM und FG „Qualitätsmanagement“

Shelesh Agrawal

Invited Speaker