What if the next pandemic can be controlled even before its onset simply by monitoring human waste? This is the thinking behind the United Kingdom and the recent UKHSA (UK Health Security Agency) project, funded to the tune of £1.3 million (about $1.7 million). Using sewage to glean information from human waste waters can potentially allow scientists to detect and thwart a viral outbreak in its infancy.

Professor Steven Riley, the UKHSA (Integrated Security Fund) chief data scientist, maintains that monitoring wastes (and sewage in particular) is among the best value tracking systems for dangerous germs. It is certainly not rocket science. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK deployed this technology to assess the growth of infection in the population.

Although that national program ceased in 2022, several nations continue to pursue this line of analytics. The UK too plans to reinstate a like program, but this time focusing even more on the surveillance of pathogens to avert the emergence of new pandemics such as the Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Mpox, the West Nile virus, and Lassa fever.

This project is an extension of current collaborations with the Global Polio Eradication Initiative (GPEI), which uses wastewater to detect poliovirus. This funding will allow further development of new approaches to virus tracking, such as qPCR, metagenomics, the ARTIC method and other novel technologies that increase speed and accuracy in tracking viral genomic materials.

How sewage can save lives

People shed traces of viruses—sometimes even long before the symptoms set in. By synthesizing and analyzing sewage samples, experts can intercept outbreaks long before hospitals even get busy. They can basically perform health checks for the entire neighborhood without having to test every single individual.

Dr. Nick Watkins of the UKHSA said the project is testing different techniques side by side precision qPCR, broad metagenomic sequencing, and the ARTIC method. But, which approach works for which disease, and how can we ensure health professionals respond in a timely manner?

Researchers are experimenting on innovative concepts. Cost-effective, rapidly produced, portable, and disposable paper “sentinel sensors” developed in one study detect COVID-19 and flu and other viruses in wastewater. Some are deploying detectors of viruses in exhaled breath. Instrumentation for the “invisible” viruses reminds us how we can pull minimum lead time before the Center indicators go up.

Funding and the United Kingdom’s health security push

The Conflict, Stability and Security Fund has been replaced by new The UK integrated Security fund (UKISF) which is sponsoring the £1.3 million project. UKISF funds, which is nearly £1 billion, aims to protect the UK from terrorism and other biosecurity threats. The inclusion of wastewater monitoring surveillance systems demonstrates government seriousness regarding public health and national security.

“The range of biological threats is increasing globally, and it is important to stay on the cutting edge of technology,” said Steven Riley. His statements complement the UK’s Biological Security Strategy and Resilience Action Plan which places pandemic preparedness as a primary concern of national security. Put by Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden, investing to keep people safe is investing in the capability to detect problems early, as opposed to waiting to respond after it is too late. why it matters now

The early days of COVID-19 showed just how powerful wastewater testing can be, as well as the ability to lose momentum tested.

The diseases on the watchlist—Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever, Mpox, West Nile virus, and the Lassa virus—aren’t making headlines every day, but they have the potential to spread quickly if ignored. So, while it is true that sewage is not the most appealing, it could be one of the most important defenses we have. Most plainly though, it is the most useful and abundant.