A new programme to evaluate how wastewater monitoring could be used to detect a wider range of dangerous pathogens has been launched by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
Over the coming months, UKHSA laboratories, using £1.3 million of investment from the UK Integrated Security Fund (ISF), will assess the use of new technology to improve the UK’s ability to detect and identify the genetic material of various viruses in wastewater, tracking how the amount of virus detected changes over time.
This programme builds on the UK’s existing wastewater surveillance for polio and, if successful, could develop the UK’s capability to detect dangerous diseases such as Crimean Congo Haemorrhagic Fever, a severe 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 the potential of these technologies to create an early warning system for pathogens such as Mpox, West Nile Virus, and Lassa, which could in future, enable the UK to detect and take faster action on outbreaks - vital for an effective response.
Professor Steven Riley, UKHSA Chief Data Officer, said: “Wastewater monitoring has the potential to be central to our work on pathogens that threaten public health. It shows great promise as a cost-effective way for us to quickly detect a range of emerging pathogens, which is vital for an effective response. 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.”