Public Health Interventions Guided by Houston’s Wastewater Surveillance Program During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Loren Hopkins, Katherine B. Ensor, Lauren Stadler, Catherine D. Johnson, Rebecca Schneider, Kaavya Domakonda, James J. McCarthy, Edward J. Septimus, David Persse, Stephen L. Williams

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

5 Scopus citations

Abstract

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater surveillance has emerged as a powerful tool used by public health authorities to track SARS-CoV-2 infections in communities. In May 2020, the Houston Health Department began working with a coalition of municipal and academic partners to develop a wastewater monitoring and reporting system for the city of Houston, Texas. Data collected from the system are integrated with other COVID-19 surveillance data and communicated through different channels to local authorities and the general public. This information is used to shape policies and inform actions to mitigate and prevent the spread of COVID-19 at municipal, institutional, and individual levels. Based on the success of this monitoring and reporting system to drive public health protection efforts, the wastewater surveillance program is likely to become a standard part of the public health toolkit for responding to infectious diseases and, potentially, other disease-causing outbreaks.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)856-861
Number of pages6
JournalPublic Health Reports
Volume138
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - 2023

Keywords

  • COVID-19
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • public health interventions
  • wastewater
  • wastewater surveillance

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health

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