Analysis of wastewater could provide early warning for the next pandemic
The spillover of dirty water and garbage behind the Mama Margret Kenyatta Level 5 hospital.
What you need to know:
- In the first large-scale wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) study in the UK, scientists at the University of Bath, Bangor University and the UK Heath Security Agency analysed wastewater from 10 cities for both chemical and biological markers of health, including pesticides, pharmaceuticals and disease-causing viruses.
- They collected samples from each location at hourly intervals over 24 hours in nine days in November 2021. The samples for each day were pooled before being processed and analysed for trace chemical markers using mass spectrometry techniques.
Routine monitoring at sewage treatment works could provide an early warning system for the next flu or norovirus epidemic.
A study published in the Journal of Hazardous Materials revealed that frequent analysis of wastewater could provide an indication of the next pandemic hence alerting hospitals to prepare and provide public health agencies with vital health information.
In the first large-scale wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) study in the UK, scientists at the University of Bath, Bangor University and the UK Heath Security Agency analysed wastewater from 10 cities for both chemical and biological markers of health, including pesticides, pharmaceuticals and disease-causing viruses.
They collected samples from each location at hourly intervals over 24 hours in nine days in November 2021. The samples for each day were pooled before being processed and analysed for trace chemical markers using mass spectrometry techniques.
The samples were also analysed to detect any genetic material from viruses (SARS-CoV-2, norovirus and adenovirus). The total sampling catchment area equated to a population of around seven million people.
The researchers detected localised outbreaks of norovirus, Covid-19 and flu, but could also correlate them with spikes in the usage of over-the-counter painkillers such as paracetamol.
The results indicate that analysing wastewater on a large scale in this way, dubbed wastewater-based epidemiology, could spot new outbreaks of diseases in communities early on before large numbers were admitted into hospitals.
Prof Barbara Kasprzyk-Hordern from the Water Innovation Research Centre and Institute for Sustainability at the University of Bath led the chemistry work on the project. She said: “Most people reach for the paracetamol when they first get sick and try to treat their illnesses at home.
“So looking for large spikes in paracetamol use could give an early indication that there may be an infectious disease outbreak in the community.
“We can also detect markers of inflammation and so look for any possible links of poor health with exposure to harmful chemicals, such as pesticides from food or industrial sources of chemicals.
“Our study has shown that only 10 daily samples from 10 wastewater treatment plants are needed to provide anonymous and unbiased information on the health of seven million people, this is much cheaper and faster than any clinical screening process.
She said the study could potentially be a very powerful tool for giving a holistic understanding of the public health of different communities.
Using the highly sensitive chemical analysis that could distinguish between very similar markers, the researchers were able to tell whether pharmaceuticals had passed through the human body or had been directly disposed into the wastewater system.
They could also identify whether chemicals such as pesticides had been ingested through food or had washed into the wastewater system from agricultural land.
The team observed that differences in levels of chemical makers were mostly dependent on the size of the population in the catchment area, however, there were some outliers.
The study was funded by the UK Health Security Agency and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council.