Testing Wastewater Helps Protect Against Antimicrobial Resistance and COVID-19

Key points

  • In 2018, CDC funded the University of South Carolina to measure antimicrobial resistance genes in wastewater and treatment plant workers at wastewater treatment plants.
  • During COVID-19, researchers built on this work and tested wastewater to measure levels of SARS-CoV-2 to find if COVID-19 infections are increasing or decreasing in specific communities.
  • This plays an important role as an early warning system to help stop the spread of deadly organisms in U.S. communities.
Wastewater detection helps protect people from antimicrobial resistance and COVID-19

AR investments in wastewater detection helped protect people from COVID-19

Posted: September 2022

During the COVID-19 pandemic, wastewater testing has become more recognized globally as a useful tool for early detection of outbreaks and burden of disease in a community. U.S. communities have reported that wastewater surveillance data is providing critical information to support their COVID-19 mitigation strategies.

The framework for this approach was developed as part of a study to determine the burden of antimicrobial-resistant threats in wastewater prior to the pandemic.

Through funding from CDC's Antimicrobial Resistance Solutions Initiative in 2018, researchers at the University of South Carolina studied resistant germs in wastewater treatment plants. The findings from this study provided critical, foundational data to establish CDC's National Wastewater Surveillance System (NWSS). When the COVID-19 pandemic began, CDC and University of South Carolina researchers were able to quickly build upon ongoing wastewater testing to track COVID-19 trends in communities across the United States.

This innovative research is helping public health officials understand true increases and decreases in COVID-19 cases within communities. NWSS (pronounced "news") has provided critical data to inform guidance to protect wastewater workers, support wastewater surveillance for COVID-19 and develop best practices for this wastewater surveillance system. Learn more about how CDC is collaborating on research with partners and how these investments are helping stop the spread of antimicrobial resistance, COVID-19 and other public health threats.

Combating Antimicrobial Resistance and COVID-19: Wastewater Surveillance YouTube Video - 1:57

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Content Source:
National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases (NCEZID)