COVID-19: Wastewater-based Epidemiology

International Water Association covid-19; wastewater; health; microbiology; waterpathogens

Target Audience

Microbiologists, Researchers from Universities and Institutes, Epidemiologists, Risk Evaluators, Modellers, Officers from Public Health Sectors

Description

Wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) has recently gained global attention, since scientific reports indicate that the concentration of SARS-CoV-2 in wastewater is proportional to the number of COVID-19 patients in a sewershed.

This webinar is presented by the IWA Specialist Group on Health-Related Water Microbiology (HRWM SG) and will look at the long term experience and health significance of virus detection in wastewater. The members of this group are specialised water professionals who have been developing and applying detection techniques for pathogenic viruses over decades.

During the webinar, HRWM SG specialists will specifically provide updated information about WBE for SARS-CoV-2 and other important viral water pathogens including poliovirus, Hepatitis E virus, adenovirus and norovirus. They will also present and discuss with the audience the potential of wastewater-based epidemiology (WBE) as an early warning system for public health.

Learning Objectives

After this session, participants will be able to:

• Understand the limitations of the analysis performed for the virus of COVID19 in water by comparison with other viruses
• Interpreting water management requirements considering enteric viruses and COVID-19
• Understand the importance of National wastewater surveillance programs for COVID-19 and other diseases
• Analyse the information that could be expected from the quantification of the virus of COVID-19 in wastewater
• Evaluate the role of the virus of COVID-19 as environmental contaminant and relation to other viral contaminants

Host

International Water Association

Panelists