Wastewater Surveillance—"Messy" Science With Public Health Potential.

RNA analysis; WATER analysis; PUBLIC health surveillance; COMMUNICABLE diseases; SEQUENCE analysis; SERIAL publications; PUBLIC health; MOLECULAR biology; WATER pollution; GENES; SEWAGE; RURAL health; COVID-19 pandemic

The authors comment on wastewater surveillance, which they think is critical public health tool for communities with limited access to clinical testing or health care. Topics discussed include advantages of wastewater analysis over traditional surveillance methods, significance of timely wastewater disease data for marginalized, rural, and resource-poor communities and their associated public health institutions, and threats facing wastewater analysis as a disease surveillance modality.