The growing need to establish a global wastewater surveillance consortium for future pandemic preparedness.

The article discusses the importance of establishing a global wastewater surveillance consortium for pandemic preparedness. Wastewater surveillance is a cost-effective method for assessing COVID-19 infection, as infected individuals shed the virus into sewer systems. The article highlights a study in Japan that found a strong correlation between the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in wastewater and the number of reported cases. Wastewater surveillance can also be used to identify specific variants of the virus. The article proposes incorporating wastewater surveillance into international and regulatory frameworks, such as the WHO, to create a global infectious disease surveillance system. The EU is already establishing an international wastewater monitoring consortium, but more countries need to participate for it to be effective. The consortium could share experiences and protocols and support monitoring in low-income countries. [Extracted from the article]