‘Early warning system’: CDC begins reporting SARS-CoV-2 wastewater data
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The CDC on Friday announced that it has begun adding wastewater surveillance data to its online COVID-19 data tracker.
According to Amy Kirby, PhD, MPH, program lead for the CDC’s Wastewater Surveillance System, about 40% to 80% of people with COVID-19 shed viral RNA in their feces, “making wastewater and sewage an important opportunity for monitoring the spread of infection.”
Similar surveillance systems have proven useful in low-resource settings.
The CDC launched its wastewater surveillance program in September 2020. Kirby said it started as a grassroots initiative by academic researchers and has since become a nationwide system, with more than 34,000 samples collected, representing approximately 53 million Americans.
Currently, the CDC is supporting 37 states, four cities and two territories to help develop wastewater surveillance systems. More than 400 testing sites have already started submitting data, and hundreds more will begin submitting data in the coming weeks, Kirby said.
“The information generated by wastewater surveillance offers public health officials a better understanding of COVID-19 trends in communities,” Kirby said. “Because increases in wastewater generally occur before corresponding increases in clinical cases, wastewater surveillance serves as an early warning system for the emergence of COVID-19 in the community.”
Using the data, the CDC can make public health decisions, such as where to allocate mobile testing and vaccination sites, and wastewater surveillance data can provide additional time to assemble local health resources in preparation for an increase in cases, Kirby said.
The CDC’s online data tracker will be updated daily and provide rates of SARS-CoV-2 in each sampling location or sewer shed.
Wastewater surveillance is best used in combination with case-based surveillance in order to maximize its value, Kirby said.
“Interpretation of data is limited in communities with minimal or no sewer infrastructure and in communities with transient populations, such as areas of high tourism,” Kirby said. “Additionally, wastewater surveillance cannot be used to determine whether a community is free from infections.”
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CDC. SARS-CoV-2 RNA levels in wastewater in the United States. https://covid.cdc.gov/covid-data-tracker/#wastewater-surveillance. Accessed Feb. 4, 2022.
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