Turning Wastewater Treatment Plants into Sentinels of Public Health

This presentation explores the transformative potential of Wastewater-Based Epidemiology (WBE) in public health surveillance. Urban wastewater carries diverse information on community health, lifestyle habits, and disease trends. By analyzing sewage, WBE enables early detection of pathogens, including SARS-CoV-2, and tracks their spread among populations. Historical milestones and recent applications have illustrated its effectiveness, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic. Cyprus's national surveillance programs highlight the real-time utility of WBE in monitoring virus variants and antibiotic resistance determinants, while emerging initiatives including surveillance at airports and localized urban geographical points, showcase the WBE expanding applications. Overall, WBE is poised to be a core component of the global public health infrastructure.