Community-led standards for global wastewater-based infectious disease surveillance

Bibliographic Data

ID19591925
AuthorsE A Smith (0000-0002-9482-9666, University of Minnesota, corresponding author), Maryam Ahmadi Jeshvaghane (0000-0002-8970-2601, Scripps Research Institute), Dylan Pilz (Scripps Research Institute), Dylan A Pilz (0009-0007-4173-4480), Mercury Shitindo (0000-0002-3814-8786, Universidad de Zaragoza), João Costa da Silva (0009-0006-3860-5154, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences), Lance Gable (0000-0002-3095-8426, Wayne State University), Keaghan Brown (0000-0002-0479-7614, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences), Tracey Calvert-Joshua (0000-0002-6028-7811, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences), Farzaana Diedericks (0000-0002-8345-7350, African Institute for Mathematical Sciences), Gültekin Ünal (0000-0002-8996-7028, Ankara University), Jillian S Paull (0000-0001-6624-3919, Broad Institute), Nitin B Shukla (0000-0002-3251-0369, Government of Gujarat), Zeenatuddeen Muhammad (0000-0001-7227-0446, Medical Laboratory Science Council of Nigeria), Justice Ohene Amofa (0009-0004-7669-1626, Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research), E Liu (Duke-NUS Medical School), Elyssa Jiawen Liu, Emma Griffiths (0000-0001-6799-9451, Simon Fraser University), Emma J Griffiths, Chrystal Landgraff (0000-0002-3253-2496, Public Health Agency of Canada), Fatma Z Guerfali (0000-0002-6973-2870, Tunis University), Nicki Tiffin (0000-0001-5083-2735, University of the Western Cape), Joshua I Levy (0000-0001-7573-7793, Scripps Research Institute, corresponding author)
EditorsYogesh Hooda (0000-0002-7181-9254)
Year2026
Volume6
Issue4
Pagese0006266
Publication date2026-04-20
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePLOS Global Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 2767-3375 • E-ISSN: 2767-3375
PublisherPublic Library of Science (PLoS) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1371/journal.pgph.0006266
PMID42008559
OpenAlexW7154965652
LanguageEN
References cited34

The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated global adoption of wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) and revealed its value as a complement to case-based infectious disease monitoring. However, practical scientific, ethical, and legal standards for public health implementation remain limited. To address this gap, the Public Health Alliance for Genomic Epidemiology (PHA4GE) established a multidisciplinary international working group to develop community-driven, open guidance on WES methods and best practices. By integrating expertise from public health researchers, practitioners, bioethicists, and legal scholars, together with feedback from the broader public health community, these standards aim to promote transparent, reproducible, and accessible implementation of WES worldwide. This continuously updated framework spans surveillance strategies, data analysis, data sharing, and ethical-legal considerations, aligning with normative guidance from global public health authorities while remaining adaptable to diverse contexts and resource levels. All guidance documents can be found at https://pha4ge.github.io/wastewater-guidance

Disease surveillance · Global health · Infectious disease (medical specialty) · International Health Regulations · Multidisciplinary approach · Pandemic · Public health · Public health surveillance · Fecal contamination and water quality · SARS-CoV-2 detection and testing · Wastewater Treatment and Reuse