Wastewater-based detection of an influenza outbreak [article]

Marlene K Wolfe, Dorothea Duong, Kevin M Bakker, Michelle Ammerman, Lindsey Mortenson, Bridgette Hughes, Emily T Martin, Bradley J White, Alexandria B Boehm, Krista R Wigginton
2022 medRxiv   pre-print
Traditional influenza surveillance informs control strategies but can lag behind outbreak onset and undercount cases, while wastewater surveillance is effective for monitoring near real-time dynamics of outbreaks but has not been attempted for influenza. We quantified Influenza A virus RNA in wastewater during an active outbreak. RNA concentrations were strongly associated with reported clinical cases and reflected the outbreak pattern and magnitude, suggesting this approach could aid in early detection.
doi:10.1101/2022.02.15.22271027 fatcat:crbst3ti7jclhb6xx5oxm7yuoa