The European Commission lays the foundations for a global system for wastewater surveillance for public health

The COVID-19 pandemic made it clear that traditional approaches to public health must evolve. Wastewater surveillance holds the potential to be a game-changer for early detection and effective management of infectious diseases.

Today, the Health Emergency Preparedness and Response Authority (HERA) and the Joint Research Centre (JRC) of the European Commission opened the International Conference 'Towards a Wastewater Surveillance System for Public Health’ in Frankfurt am Main. The three-day event, from 15 to 17 November, is organised in collaboration with the German Federal Ministry of Health, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the State of Hesse and its development agency, Hessen-Trade-and-Invest-GmbH, as well as the World Health Organization.

The conference brings together a diverse, global audience of public health experts, researchers, decision-makers, industry, and philanthropic organisations, and marks a significant milestone in advancing the integration of wastewater surveillance into public health policies. With more than 300 participants from 45 countries, key sectors in public health from biotechnology to water supply and sanitation were in attendance, joined by representatives from aviation, public administration, and academia.

Wastewater surveillance has emerged as a powerful, cost-effective, and timely tool that complements clinical data, offering unique insights into the presence and dynamics of pathogens and other information relevant to public health. The vanguard of a new, global early warning system, it provides crucial evidence to decision-makers and has the potential to greatly enhance collaboration for pandemic preparedness.

The full potential of wastewater surveillance for pandemic preparedness is yet to be unlocked. As recognised by the conference, there are still challenges to be addressed, such as data sharing and interoperability, capacity building and closer collaboration between relevant stakeholders. Appropriate discussions around tailoring future resources are also key to the improvement and institutionalisation of wastewater surveillance for public health.

Laurent Muschel, acting Head of HERA, said: “Wastewater surveillance represents a powerful tool to pick up early signals of new health threats. Today, our International Conference marks an important step towards the establishment of a global consortium for wastewater surveillance for public health, which can become a great asset for preventing future health crises in all corners of the world”.

"As a support to the Global Consortium, the European Commission's Joint Research Centre presents today the EU Wastewater Observatory for Public Health", says Stephen Quest, Director-General of the JRC. "We are working with HERA on a new capacity development facility, a Wastewater Academy which seeks the involvement of the private sector, too" he continues.

Background

HERA has the specific task to strengthen environmental monitoring, including wastewater-based surveillance, and to establish efficient data-sharing mechanisms to ensure relevant information on pathogens with pandemic and/or epidemic potential is widely and regularly available. Wastewater surveillance provides cost-effective and valuable information about circulating pathogens. It is a critical data source to inform public health decision-making and to forewarn of epidemic outbreaks, enabling countries to mobilise resources to stop geographic spread at an early stage. Focused on strategically important locations at a global level, a wastewater surveillance system has the potential to monitor the spread of specific pathogens in quasi real-time, greatly enhancing preparedness and response capacities.