UKHSA to test wastewater monitoring as virus early warning system

A new £1.3m development programme has been launched by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) to test whether wastewater monitoring can serve as an early alert system for viral outbreaks.

Backed by the UK Integrated Security Fund, UKHSA laboratories will assess new technologies to detect and identify viral genetic material in wastewater and track how levels change over time.

Related Article: Mythbuster: ‘Chickenpox is only a mild childhood illness, there’s no need to vaccinate children against it’

The aim is to spot signals of community transmission sooner, enabling faster public health action.

The work builds on existing wastewater surveillance for polio and, if successful, could extend capability to viruses such as Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever – a serious disease endemic in Africa, the Balkans, the Middle East and parts of Asia that has never before been targeted in wastewater testing.

The programme will also explore how wastewater trends could help flag potential outbreaks of Mpox, West Nile Virus and Lassa.

Related Article: Rise in mosquito-borne chikungunya infection in returning travellers

Professor Steven Riley, UKHSA chief data officer, said wastewater monitoring has ‘great promise’ as a cost-effective way to quickly detect a range of emerging pathogens.

He added: ‘This is an exciting and important project. The diversity of biological threats is increasing globally, and it’s crucial that we stay at the cutting edge of new technology to detect them.’

Related Article: UKHSA warns of worrying rises in infectious diseases since Covid pandemic

The wastewater monitoring project is one of several biosecurity projects funded through the UK Integrated Security Fund Biosecurity Portfolio, launched by the Cabinet Office.

This article was first published by our sister title, The Pharmacist.